Fire and Ice IV: The Vagaari Gambit
by Elorendil
Summary: From the Fire And Ice series. We all know what fate befell Outbound Flight in the Star Wars canon. But how will events be different when Thrawn has taken a Jedi as his mate? Will he find a solution to the Vagaari threat that doesn't also result on the destruction of Outbound Flight? Or will his actions end up alienating the woman he loves? Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

AN: Theo, this one is for you. :) You said you wanted to see how Outbound Flight would go with Chiara around, so here it is. If anyone has any better suggestions for the title, please let me know. This one is really just the working title and it might get changed down the road if I come up with something better.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or any of these characters, aside from Chiara. Due to the fact that this story runs parallel to Zahn's _Outbound Flight_, a lot of the conversation, as well as the general story arc, is his. Please don't sue me, this is just for fun and I'm not making any money off this. :)

* * *

**Chapter 1  
**

Chiara stood on the bridge, watching as the brilliant hyperspace sky flowed past the canopy of the _Springhawk_. Thrawn sat calmly in his command chair, his glowing eyes following the movements of the bridge crew.

"One minute until breakout," the helmsman announced.

Thrawn cocked his head in her direction. "Have you been able to pinpoint anything more specific about this feeling you have?" he asked, searching her face.

She gestured helplessly. "No, nothing. I'm sorry, Thrawn, I can't always pin things down specifically. It doesn't work that way."

"I understand," he assured her. "Weapons, stand ready. Sensors, I want a full system scan as soon as we come out of hyperspace. And raise shields , as well."

Both bridge stations acknowledged and a tense silence fell, waiting and watching as the timer counted down until they dropped out of hyperspace. As it reached zero, the mottled sky stretched briefly into starlines before coalescing into stars once more. Chiara glanced at the sensor board and was pleased to see that their escort of three fighters was still in precise formation off their port bow. The Chiss pilots were among the best she had ever met and had certainly challenged her to reach new levels of precision in her own flying. It had taken some time for her to cultivate such exact control over her clawcraft, but now she could fly with the best of them without anyone noticing that there was a non-Chiss in one of the heavy fighters.

"Sensors report no activity in the area, Commander," the sensors officer called.

"Hold this position," Thrawn instructed. "Fighter units, I want a sweep of-" He broke off as a flicker of pseudomotion caught his eye. It was a light freighter of an unfamiliar design, followed closely by a larger ship that was relatively well-armed. Chiara's grip tightened on the back of his command chair.

"That's it, that's what I felt coming," she told him quietly.

Thrawn's glowing eyes flicked to her, then back out the viewport. "Give me a tactical analysis of both ships," he ordered. "And tap any communication between the two vessels."

The comm officer acknowledged and a booming voice echoed over the bridge speakers in an unfamiliar language. Thrawn tilted his head a bit, listening to the sounds of the unknown language.

Chiara frowned as she recognized the language. "That's Huttese. They must be from the Republic, but what are they doing all the way out here?"

"What is he saying?" Thrawn asked. Just then, another voice replied, this time in Basic.

"Oh, hi, Progga," it said, "Look, like I told you before, I can't let you have these furs. I've already contracted with Drixo-"

The deep, rumbling speech of the Hutt cut him off. "Ignore the furs," Chiara translated. "Show me your hidden treasure hoard."

"My what?" The second voice came back.

"Do not play the fool," the Hutt warned. "I know your sort. You do not simply run from something, but rather run to something. This is the lone star system along this vector. What could you have run to but a secret base and treasure hoard?"

"The larger ship seems to be some sort of pirate vessel," Thrawn murmured, still listening to the running translation. "Fighters, fire shock nets at both vessels. I want them disabled before they find out we are here. One shock net should be sufficient for the smaller vessel. I want the other two fighters to coordinate against the larger one. Alert me when you are in position."

"It wasn't like that, Progga," the second voice objected. "We were just trying to-"

"Enough!" The guttural Hutt voice rumbled throughout the bridge, reverberating off the metal walls. "Lead me to this base. Now."

"There isn't any base," the pilot of the smaller vessel insisted. "This is the Unknown Regions. Why would I set up a base out here?"

"The fighters report that they are in position, Commander," the communications officer reported.

"The fighters will fire on my mark. Three. Two. One. Mark."

Chiara gripped the back of Thrawn's command chair as the fighters all dropped small, shiny missiles towards the unknown ships. A familiar haze erupted as the missiles blew apart as they closed in on the ships, flashing a jolt of disabling energy as the nets wrapped around the hulls of the two vessels.

"The smaller vessel has been disabled, sir. The larger one seems to be largely unaffected by the shock nets," the sensors officer informed them.

"Open a hailing channel with them," Thrawn ordered. He turned to Chiara. "These people understand Basic, I take it, even if they do not speak it?"

She nodded. "They consider it beneath them to speak another language, but they do understand Basic."

"Channel open, sir," the communications officer reported.

Thrawn lifted his glowing eyes to the Hutt ship, visible through the bridge viewport. "Unidentified vessel," Thrawn addressed them, "Identify yourselves and state your origin and intentions."

The only answer was a blaze of green weapons fire that erupted from the Hutt ship, missing one of the clawcraft by less than a meter. Chiara saw Thrawn's jaw tightened briefly and knew the Hutt had made his last mistake. Thrawn never took kindly to his forces being fired upon, nor did he allow the aggressor to go unpunished.

"Prard'sint'ki, take up guard position over the disabled craft," he ordered one of the clawcraft pilots, a deadly edge in his tone. "All others, engage and destroy the larger vessel."

It took just over five minutes for Thrawn's forces to reduce the Hutt ship to rubble. It was another twenty or so minutes before Thrawn was ready to turn his attention from examining the obliterated ship to the small transport that remained.

"Prard'sink'ki, bring them alongside and have them dock with us." Thrawn ordered, signaling for his bridge controller to open the docking bay.

"What, you aren't going to talk to them, first?" Chiara asked.

Thrawn gave her a microscopic smile. "I prefer to see how they react to being brought aboard the ship that just destroyed the other vessel so efficiently. I'd like you to stay on the bridge and oversee our return to Crustai. You can watch the interaction through the security monitors."

"I can't be of any use to you if thinks go badly when I am on the bridge," she objected.

One corner of Thrawn's mouth twitched up into a smile and he shook his head at her in amusement. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Chiara, and I will have several warriors with me. It will be fine," he assured her.

Chiara sighed. She knew he was right, but she wasn't fond of the idea of him going off with some unknown people who were likely to turn out to be smugglers. "Alright," she agreed reluctantly.

"You can meet them later," he promised her. "I want to see how they react to being surrounded by unfamiliar beings, first. You are too close to their species."

She snorted. "Are you calling me human? I'm offended," she told him in mock seriousness.

"Not at all, Chiara. Now, I will be back soon. Get us underway to return to Crustai, please," he asked her, heading for the door.

"Right," she muttered under her breath, her gaze following his retreating back for a moment. She took a deep breath and forced her attention to the matter at hand, settling into Thrawn's command chair as she did so."Navigation; lay in a course for the base. We will leave as soon as you have completed your calculations."

She tapped at the display board as the navigations officer acknowledged, pulling up the security footage of the conference room just off the bridge that Thrawn had selected. Thrawn was already seated at the head of the long table, looking both imposing and regal in his crisp black uniform. Her eyes took in the elaborately tooled silver rank insignias that she had fastened to his collar that morning, as well as the large burgundy patch of the Eighth Ruling Family that decorated his well-muscled shoulder. He ran his fingers through his short, blue-black hair as he waited for their guests to arrive and settled more comfortably into the high-backed chair. They didn't have long to wait. The first human into the room was a big, middle-aged man with a beautiful, dark haired woman on his arm. A decidedly younger and fresh-faced junior crewer trailed along behind them, staring about him with interest, clearly studying Thrawn and his warriors. Chiara relaxed slightly as she noticed that Thisa was one of the warriors that had been assigned to escort their guests, and he had taken up a ready and watchful position just inside the door. If she trusted anyone else with Thrawn's safety, she trusted Thisa.

The big man stopped in front of the table and seemed to size Thrawn up. "Hello, I'm Dubrak Qennto, Captain of the _Bargain Hunter_," he introduced himself. "I don't suppose you happen to speak Basic?"

She couldn't see Thrawn's face from the angle of the camera, but he didn't reply.

"Maybe we should try one of the Outer Rim trade languages," the younger man suggested.

"Thanks for that brilliant suggestion," Quennto said sarcastically. Nevertheless, he took his junior crewer's suggestion and switched to Sy Bisti. "Greetings to you, noble sir. We're travelers and traders from a far world, who mean no harm to you or your people."

Despite the fact that she knew he spoke Sy Bisti, Thrawn still made no response. Chiara watched silently, wondering just what he was playing at. Even after nearly three years together, she still had a hard time following his thinking process, at times. He always had a reason for everything he did, though, that was one thing she had learned long ago. She suppressed a smile as it occurred to her that this meeting wasn't so very different from when she had first met Thrawn, so many years ago. Except this one wasn't taking place in a medbay, thankfully.

"You could try Taarja," the woman suggested.

"I don't know Taarja very well," Qennto replied, still in Sy Bisti. He turned to Thisa and the other guard, who were stationed just inside the door. "How about you? Do any of you understand Sy Bisti? How about Taarja? Meese Caulf?" Neither of them so much as twitched.

Finally, Thrawn stirred. "Sy Bisti will do."

Qennto turned back to him, blinking in surprise. "Did you just say-?"

"I said, Sy Bisti will do," Thrawn repeated. "Please; be seated."

"Ah… thank you," Qennto said, pulling out chairs for himself and the lady with him. His junior crewer followed suit and sat down across from them.

"I'm Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Ascendancy," Thrawn introduced himself smoothly. "This is the _Springhawk_, Picket Force Two command vessel of the Expansionary Defense Fleet. And you are…?" he asked.

"I'm Dubrak Qennto, Commander, Captain of the-" the big man started.

"And _you _are…?" Thrawn repeated, leaning on the pronoun. Chiara frowned at the image, wondering who he was indicating and why he was so clearly snubbing the captain.

"I'm Jorj Car'das," the younger man said, his voice betraying none of the nervousness he must be feeling. "Crewer on the freighter _Bargain Hunter_."

"And these?" Thrawn asked, gesturing to the others.

Car'das glanced at his captain as if seeking permission and got a microscopic nod. "This is my captain, Dubrak Qennto, and his-" the young man hesitated, as if seeking the right word to describe her relationship to the captain. "His second in command, Maris Ferasi."

Thrawn nodded to both of them in greeting before shifting his gaze back to Car'das. "Why are you here?"

"We're Corellian traders, from one of the systems in the Galactic Republic, Car'das said, confirming Chiara's suspicion on their origins. His dress and faint accent had a distinctly Corellian flare, even to her out-of-practice ear.

"K'rell'n," Thrawn repeated. "Traders, you say? Not explorers or scouts?"

"Jedi," the navigations specialist called, distracting her from Thrawn's question and answer session with these Corellians. "The course is laid in and ready."

She nodded, keying up the nav setting on her own board. "Excellent," she said as she examined the course setting. "Helm; you may take us to hyperspeed when you are ready, Ensign."

"Acknowledged," the helmsman called. Chiara watched as he pulled back keyed in the course and eased the hyperdrive lever back. Outside the bridge canopy, the stars stretched into starlines and then transformed into the familiar, mottled glow of hyperspace. She surveyed the bridge for a moment, making sure that everything was working smoothly before turning back to the feed from the conference room.

"-we've had trouble with them before," Car'das was saying. "I think they were gunning specifically for us."

"You must be carrying a valuable cargo," Thrawn observed, clearly watching the junior crewer closely.

"It's nothing fancy," Qennto cut in, glaring at his junior crewer. "A shipment of furs and exotic luxury garments. We're most grateful to you for coming to our aid."

"You're welcome," Thrawn said politely. "I'd be curious to see what your people consider luxury garments. Perhaps you'll show me your cargo before you leave."

"I'd be delighted. Does that mean you're releasing us?" Captain Qennto questioned.

"Soon," Thrawn promised. "First I need to examine your vessel and confirm that you're indeed the innocent travelers you claim."

Chiara couldn't help smiling at that. He'd said nearly the exact same thing to her nearly three years earlier and she was still here. That had been her choice, though.

"Of course. We'll give you a complete tour anytime you want," Qennto offered.

"Thank you, but that can wait until we reach my base," Thrawn told him. "Until then, resting quarters have been prepared for you. Perhaps later you'll permit me to show you Chiss hospitality."

"We would be both grateful and honored, Commander." Quennto made a half-bow. "I'd just like to mention, though, that we're on a very tight schedule, which our unexpected detour has made that much tighter. We'd appreciate it if you could send us on our way as quickly as possible."

"Of course. The base isn't far."

"Is it in this system?" The captain seemed to recognize the imprudence of such a question as soon as it left his mouth. "Sorry, sorry - none of my business," he apologized.

"True," Thrawn agreed evenly. "However, it will do no harm to tell you that it's in a different system entirely."

"Ah. May I ask when we'll be leaving to go there?" Qennto asked.

"We've already left. We made the jump to hyperspace approximately four standard minutes ago," Thrawn informed him.

The Captain frowned. "Really? I didn't hear or feel anything."

"Perhaps our hyperdrive systems are superior to yours," Thrawn said, getting smoothly to his feet. "Now, if you'll follow me, I'll escort you to the resting area."

Chiara watched as he led the traders out the door. She didn't have long to wait until he reappeared on the bridge. "So, what did you think?" she asked.

"I do not believe the _Bargain Hunter _is a simple merchant vessel, as they claim," he told her, dropping into the command chair she had vacated for him. "If their cargo is only luxury garments, as they claim, I see no point in this pirate preying on them." He shifted his attention over her shoulder. "Lieutenant, I want a full search and scan done of their vessel and cargo. I expect a report within two hours."

"What are you expecting to find?" Chiara asked, watching as the Lieutenant headed aft to collect an inspection team and equipment.

"They lack the weaponry to be pirates themselves. I suspect we will find that they are smugglers," Thrawn told her. "I wish to know for certain before I interview them again."

"That was my conclusion as well. It makes sense," Chiara observed. "And smuggling is relatively typical of Corellians. It seems to be a favorite past-time of a lot of their citizens."

"Is it?" Thrawn said interestedly. He seemed to consider this for a moment before asking, "What were your impressions of our guests?"

She thought about it, using Jedi memory-enhancement techniques to play back the conversation quickly in her head. "Qennto seems to be the type who will attempt to manipulate any situation to his advantage. I get the impression that he is honest enough, though. Or, as honest as a smuggler can be, I should say. Car'das seems to be much more observant and educated, to my eye. I think he is the more trustworthy of the two. As for the woman, Ferasi, it's a bit hard to come to any solid conclusions about her, since she really didn't say anything."

"Agreed," Thrawn murmured. "They certainly don't seem to be scouts or explorers. I tend to believe them when they say they had a hyperdrive accident."

"It wouldn't be the first hyperdrive accident to drop people from the Republic into your lap," Chiara told him with a teasing smile. "Although, if you get into any serious relationships with any of them, we're going to have a serious problem."

"Of course not," Thrawn assured her, missing her playful look in his preoccupation.

"I'm joking, Thrawn," Chiara told him, rolling her eyes. "Shall we head to your office to await the report? I don't think the bridge crew needs us."

Thrawn simply nodded and got to his feet, heading for the door.

They only had to wait a little over an hour for the inspection team to return and submit a report on the _Bargain Hunter _and it's cargo. "I think those are firegems," Chiara murmured, examining the holographric image that was projected above Thrawn's desk.

Thrawn glanced at her. "Why would they be smuggling them?"

"I'm not sure. You have to keep in mind that I wasn't terribly involved in interstellar trade matters. I mediated the occasional shipping lane dispute, but that usually focused on security or shipping rights, rather than actual goods. Jedi don't really involve themselves in the actual commerce perspectives of things, and since we have no possessions of our own, we have little experience with such matters," she pointed out.

"Yes," Thrawn said absently, studying the image of the gemstones. "I believe I would like to keep these K'rll'n traders here for a time. I wish to study them. By your own admission, you lived a very different life from that of most citizens of your Galactic Republic. I would like to learn more about your people and region of space; this seems to be the ideal opportunity to do so."

"Corellian," Chiara corrected. "I wouldn't mind having them around for a bit, either. It'd be nice to catch up on some of the news and happenings that I have missed."

Thrawn looked up at her in mild surprise, the barest hint of tension visible around his glowing eyes. "You still miss it, don't you?"

"I don't know that 'miss' is the right word," Chiara hedged. "I think about the life I left behind, sometimes, and I wonder how things are holding together. I have no desire to go back, though. I am happy here."

That seemed to appease him somewhat. "Very well, then, that is decided. This Jorj Car'das seems interested enough in us, I believe he will agree to stay for at least a time. Let us summon him so that we can discuss it." Thrawn started to reach for his comlink, but Chiara stayed is hand.

"I'll go. I'm curious to see how they react to seeing an almost-human on a ship full of Chiss. Where do want me to bring them?" she asked.

Thrawn appeared to be about to object, but seemed to think better of it. "Bring Jorj Car'das only to Forward Visual One. I believe that will be a suitably impressive location for such a meeting. The others will remain in the quarters assigned until a refreshment can be prepared."

"Alright. I'll meet you there in a few minutes." She paused, seeing the concern that was still etched on his handsome face. "Stop worrying, Thrawn. I promise I'm not going to go running off with them or anything. The Republic may be where I was raised and spent the first part my life serving, but it isn't my home anymore. My home is with you."

He smiled at her, some of the tension dissipating. "I know. Be careful. My warriors may have searched them, but they could possibly have weapons they wouldn't recognize."

That made Chiara roll her eyes. "Seriously, Thrawn? I think I can handle three humans."

"Nevertheless, I would prefer that you take warriors with you. I'll have a pair meet you outside the Corellian's quarters," Thrawn told her.

* * *

The warriors beat Chiara to the Corellian's temporary quarters. Chiara greeted them each in turn before stepping to the door and pressing the chime. She counted to three before she keyed open the door and stepped smoothly inside. Car'das, she noted, jerked upright as she entered. Apparently, he'd been dozing at the table. Quennto and Ferasi were relaxing on the bunks that lined one wall.

"Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo's respects," she greeted them, her eyes on Car'das. "We request your presence in Forward Visual One."

Qennto swung his legs onto the floor and stood, eying her for a moment, clearly thrown off by the fact that she was clearly not Chiss. "Wonderful," he said, just as obviously trying to mask his surprise.

"The Commander has invited Car'das only, at this time," Chiara told him, gesturing to where the younger man was still rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"What?" Qennto said, slamming on the brakes.

"A refreshment is being prepared for you, but until it is ready only Car'das will come," she informed the bulky man.

"Now, wait a second," Qennto growled at her. "We stick together or-"

"It's okay," Car'das interrupted, getting to his feet and taking a step towards the doorway. "I'll be fine."

"Car'das," the Captain warned, his eyes flicking back and forth between Chiara and his junior crewer.

"It's okay," Car'das repeated, taking another step towards the doorway. Chiara moved aside to let him step past her and out the door to where the two guards were waiting. With one last glance at Captain Qennto, she followed.

"Please, follow me," she said, taking the lead and setting off down the corridor.

"You speak Basic exceptionally well," Car'das observed, falling into step behind her.

"I should hope so," she replied, allowing herself a sardonic smile. "I lived most of my life in the Republic."

He threw her a surprised look. "Really? How long have you been here?"

"A little over three years," she told him.

"You aren't a slave, are you?" he asked in concern.

That made her laugh. "No, I'm not a slave. I could go back to the Republic any time I wanted to," she assured him.

"I see. So, you stay by your own free will? How did you end up here?" Car'das pressed.

Chiara held up a hand to stop his stream of questions. "Enough. The Commander is waiting for you. Any questions you have can wait until he has spoken with you."

The young man fell silent and continued on a step behind her. She saw out of the corner of his eye that he was still studying his surroundings, much as he had on their way in from the _Bargain Hunter_. He stole a furtive glance into the open doors that they passed, clearly still curious about his hosts. Chiara paused outside Forward Visual One and keyed the door open, gesturing Car'das inside.

"Welcome, Jorj Car'das," Thrawn greeted their guest from where he sat silhouetted against the brilliance of the flowing hyperspace sky. Chiara took up a position behind Thrawn, suppressing a smile of amusement at the human's obvious discomfort and uncertainty of what to do. "Beautiful, isn't it? Please; be seated."

"Thank you," Car'das said as he moved to join Thrawn a guarded meter away on the curving couch. "May I ask why you sent for me?"

"To share this view, of course," Thrawn told him drily. "I believe you have already met my mate, Jedi Master Chiara Matao. She brought you here so that you might answer a few questions, as well."

Chiara felt a flicker of fear from the young Corellian. "A very nice view this is, too. I'm a little surprised to find such a room aboard a warship," he commented, trying to cover his nervousness.

"Oh, it's quite functional," Thrawn assured him. "Its full name is Forward Visual Triangulation Site Number One. We place spotters here during combat to track enemy vessels and other possible threats, and to coordinate some of our line-of-sight weaponry."

"Don't you have sensors to handle that?" Car'das asked, his curiousity winning out over his concern.

"Of course, and usually they're quite accurate," Thrawn said. "But I'm sure you know there are ways of misleading or blinding electronic eyes. Sometimes the eyes of a Chiss are more reliable."

"I suppose, but isn't it hard to get the information to the gunners fast enough?" Car'das questioned.

"There are ways," Thrawn replied. "What exactly is your business, Jorj Car'das?"

"Captain Quennto's already told you that." Chiara felt his nervousness escalate considerably with this question. "We're merchants annd traders."

"Unfortunately for your captain's assertions, I'm familiar with the economics of star travel," Thrawn told Car'das, shaking his head. Chiara could sense his curiosity as she stretched out towards him with the Force. "Your vessel is far too small for any standard cargo to cover even normal operating expenses, let alone emergency repair work. I therefore conclude that you havea a sideline occupation. You haven't the weaponry to be pirates or privateers, so you must be smugglers."

"I don't suppose it would do any good to point out that our economics and yours might not scale the same?" Car'das said, clearly stalling.

"_Is _that what you claim?" Chiara could hear the imperceptible, yet deadly edge creeping into Thrawn's voice as he played this game of hider-seeker with the Corellian. If he lied, Thrawn would either execute them all or perhaps simply drop them at the edge of Chiss space after exacting a vow from them to never return, as he had once done with her.

Car'das hesitated and glanced at her, as if seeking guidance or reassurance from her. Chiara carefully kept her expression passive, allowing Thrawn to lead this conversation. "No," he finally conceded. "We _are_ mostly just traders, as Captain Qennto said. But we sometimes do a little smuggling on the side."

Thrawn relaxed slightly at this admission. There wasn't a visible change, but Chiara could feel his mood shift as she tuned silently in to his reactions through the Force. "I see," he said. "I appreciate your honesty, Jorj Car'das."

"You can just call me Car'das," the young man advised him. "In our culture, the first name is reserved for use by friends."

"You don't consider me a friend?" Thrawn questioned.

"Do you consider _me_ one?" Car'das returned. Chiara bit back a smile at his youthful naivete and sarcasm. Using that tone with Thrawn was not a good idea for anyone but her.

Chiara could feel Thrawn's mild amusement and she was fairly certain he was wondering if everyone from the Republic was as impertinent as she and Car'das seemed to be. His only outward reaction was to lift one blue-black eyebrow. "No, not you. Perhaps someday," he told the other. "You intrigue me, Car'das. Here you sit, captured by unfamiliar beings a long way from home. Yet instead of wrapping yourself in a blanket of fear or anger, you instead stretch outside yourself with curiosity."

"Curiosity?" the human asked, frowning.

"You studied my warriors as you were brought on board. I could see it in your eyes and face as you observed and thought and evaluated. You did the same as you were taken to your quarters, and again as Chiara brought you here just now," Thrawn told him.

Car'das's fear nearly doubled, clearly mistaking Thrawn's intention. "I was just looking. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Calm yourself," Thrawn said, letting some of his amusement color his tone. "I'm not accusing you of spying. I, too, have the gift of curiosity, and therefore prize it in others. Tell me, who is to receive the hidden gemstones?"

Car'das jerked as if he'd been stung. "You found-? I mean... in that case, why did you ask me about it?"

"As I said, I appreciate honesty," Thrawn said. "Who is the intended recipient?"

"A group of Hutts operating out of the Comra system," Car'das said, glancing at Chiara as if concerned that she might object to the smugglers working with a Hutt. She had to admit, Hutts ranked pretty high on her list of species that she considered to be utterly despicable and revolting, as a whole, especially given their practice of owning and selling slaves. "Rivals to the ones you- the ones who were attacking us. You _did _know they weren't just random pirates, didnn't you? That they were hunting us, specifically?"

"We monitored your transmissions as we positioned ourselves to intervene. Chiara understands the language of these Hutts and was able to translate for me. In addition to this, I do speak Basic and therefore understood Captain Qennto's side of the conversation, as well."

Car'das's jaw dropped open a bit at this revelation. "Then why are we speaking Sy Bisti?" he asked, clearly confused.

"Because I am more familiar with Sy Bisti. I did not wish to attempt a conversation in an unfamiliar language without Chiara present to translate for me, if necessary. Now that she is here, we can use Basic if it would be easier," Thrawn offered, switching languages with relative ease. "Is the possession of these gems illegal, then?"

Car'das seemed to have to take a moment to refocus his mind on the question. "No, but the customs fees are ridiculously high. Smugglers are often used to avoid having to pay them." He hesitated. "Actually, considering the people we got this batch from, they may also have been stolen. But don't tell Maris that."

"Oh?" Thrawn asked, his tone betraying his interest in that offhand comment.

The human winced, apparently realizing he should have kept that last bit to himself. "Maris is something of an idealist," he explained. "She thinks this whole smuggling thing is just a way of making a statement against the greedy and stupid Republic bureaucracy." Once again, he seemed to recall Chiara's presence only after he had spoken and cast a nervous look her way, as if worried she might object to his assessment of the Republic bureaucracy. She shrugged fractionally to indicate that she had no objection to his explanation.

"Captain Qennto hasn't seen fit to enlighten her?" Thrawn asked, arching both of his blue-black eyebrows.

"Captain Qennto likes her company. I doubt she'd stay with him if she knew the whole truth," Car'das admitted.

Thrawn frowned and Chiara could tell he was thinking of their relationship and the total openness between them. "He claims to care about her, yet lies to her?"

"I don't know what he claims," Car'das told him. "Though I suppose you could say that idealists like Maris do a lot of lying to themselves. The truth is there in front of her if she wanted to see it." He glanced at Thrawn. "Though of course that doesn't excuse our part in it," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"No, it doesn't," Thrawn agreed. "What would be the consequences if you didn't deliver the gemstones?"

"They'd kill us," Car'das said. "Probably in some hugely entertaining way, like watching us get eaten by some combination of large animals." It was, Chiara knew, an accurate assumption for how the Hutts would likely punish the smugglers for failing to deliver their goods.

"And if the delivery is merely late?"

The Corellian frowned. "What exactly do you want from me, Commander Mitthrawnuruodo?" Chiara grimaced to herself at the way the human butchered Thrawn's name so thoroughly. Even after three years of practice, it was still difficult for her to get out a mostly-accurate pronunciation. Her Cheunh was perfectly understandable, but she knew the crew often found her mispronunciations to be a source of amusement, despite their overall respect and acceptance of her.

"Nothing too burdensome," Thrawn assured him. "I merely wish your company for a time."

"Why?"

"Partly to learn more about your people," Thrawn told him, "But partially as an opportunity to test my language skills. Chiara is an excellent teacher, yet she is the only one with whom I have conversed in Basic. Your accent is different enough that it presents new challenges in the language. Also, I suspect that Chiara would welcome your company, as well. She has been out of touch with your Republic for over three years. She would welcome the opportunity to catch up on the news from your region of space."

"Hasn't she taught you about our people?" Car'das asked, his eyes flicking between her and Thrawn.

"I have," Chiara confirmed. "But the life of a Jedi is hardly a good picture of the Republic, as a whole. Although I have a great deal of knowledge about the politics and policies of the Republic, I admit that I have very little understanding of the day to day lives of most of the citizens of the Republic. You can provide far more insight into the Republic than I can, in that respect."

Car'das eyed her. "And you aren't going to turn us in for smuggling?"

She couldn't help chuckling at that. "You have nothing to fear on that account, Car'das. I left the Jedi Order and the Republic some time ago: I have no interest in turning you in."

Car'das glanced back at Thrawn. "Okay, but..." He hesitated, clearly looking for the right way to phrase his question.

"I'm not planning an invasion, if that's what concerns you," Thrawn said, a ghost of a smile touching his lips. "Chiss don't invade the territories of others. We don't make war against even potential enemies unless we're attacked first." He didn't point out that Chiara could have provided him with all the information that he would have needed to launch a successful campaign against the Republic.

"Well, you certainly don't have to worry about any attacks from us," Car'das rushed to assure him. "We've got too many internal troubles of our own right now to go bother anyone else."

"So Chiara has told me," Thrawn replied. "We have nothing to fear from each other. It would merely be an indulgence of my curiosity. Although I have learned a great deal about your culture from her, as she has said, there is a great deal more I could learn from you."

"I see. And what would _we_ get out of it?" Car'das asked.

"For you, there would be an equal satisfaction of your own curiosity." Thrawn raised his eyebrows at the young man. "You _do_ wish to learn more about my people, don't you?"

"Very much, but I can't see that appealing to Captain Quennto," Car'das told him.

"Perhaps a few extra valuables added to his cargo, then. That might also help to mollify your clients," Thrawn suggested.

"Yes, they'll definitely need some mollifying." Car'das's expression looked rather grim as he thought about the prospect of returning to the Republic with a late delivery. "A little extra loot would go a long way toward that."

"Then it's agreed," Thrawn said, standing up.

Car'das scrambled to his feet, as well. "One more thing. I'll be happy to teach you about our culture and give you the opportunity to practice your Basic, but I'd also like some language lessons in return. Would you be willing to teach me the Chiss language, or to have one of your people do so?"

Thrawn exchanged an amused look with Chiara. This was almost exactly how their conversation had gone when she first arrived in Chiss space. "I can teach you Cheunh," Thrawn said, returning his attention to Car'das and narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. "But I doubt you'll ever be able to properly speak it. I've noticed you don't even pronounce my name very well."

The human had the good grace to blush at this. "I'm sorry."

"No apology needed," Thrawn assured him. "You vocal mechanism is close to ours, but there are clearly some differences. However, I believe I _could_ teach you to speak Minnisiat. It's a trade language widely used in the regions around our territory."

"That would be wonderful," Car'das told him. "Thank you, Commander Mitth- uh... Commander."

"As I said, Cheunh pronunciation is difficult for you," Thrawn said drily. "Perhaps it would be easier if you called me by my core name, Thrawn."

"Is that permissible?" Car'das asked with a frown.

Thrawn shrugged, "It's questionable. In general, full names are required for formal occasions, for strangers and for those who are socially inferior."

"And I'm guessing we qualify on all three accounts," Car'das stated.

"Yes," Thrawn agreed. "But I believe such rules may be broken when there are good and valid reasons for doing so. In this case, there are."

"It will certainly make things easier," Car'das agreed, bowing his head. "Thank you, Commander Thrawn."

"You're welcome," Thrawn returned. "And now, a light refreshment has been prepared for you and the others. After that, your language lessons can begin."


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thanks for the follow, al'verde!

* * *

**Chapter 2  
**

"A Jedi, huh?" Qennto rumbled when Thrawn introduced her to their guests. He glanced at the lightsaber hanging prominently on her hip, rubbing his chin. "What's a Jedi doing all the way out here?"

The three smugglers, as well as Thrawn and Chiara were seated comfortably on the couch in Forward Visual One, enjoying a light snack of _btici _with _cssact_. The fact that Chiara was a Jedi seemed more startling to Captain and Ferasi than the fact that Thrawn spoke Basic.

"The same thing you are, actually," Chiara told them, taking a sip from her steaming mug of _vikn_. "I had a hyperspace accident a few years back in a prototype fighter and was left drifting with pretty much no power. Thrawn found and rescued me. The original plan was that he was going to take me back to the edge of Republic space and drop me at some inhabited world, but our plans changed once we got to know each other." She glanced at Thrawn, smiling fondly at the memory. "I have no intention of ever returning, at this point."

"I've never met a Jedi before," Maris put in, sounding impressed. "But I thought that Jedi were forbidden to have relationships."

Chiara gave her a wry smile. "The Jedi Council forbids it, yes. I've had more than my fair share of disagreements with the Council over the last few centuries, though. It is simply one more reason why I chose to leave the Order."

"Wait, did you say 'over the centuries'?" Car'das put in, giving her an odd look.

"Yes, I did," Chiara confirmed. Thrawn looked amused; this seemed to always be a cause for disbelief for everyone whom she met.

"I'm sure she means she disagrees with the decisions that the Council has made over the years, Jorj," Maris told their junior crewer.

"Actually, I meant just what I said," Chiara told her. "I'm older than I look. I served the Jedi for nearly four hundred years before deciding to stay here with Thrawn."

Maris's jaw hung slighly open in shock. "Interesting," Car'das murmured. "You have witnessed both the Jedi Order and the Republic evolving over the years, then."

Chiara grimaced. "I wouldn't say that either of them have evolved in the last four hundred years, actually. The Republic has devolved into a bloated and corrupt bureaucracy and the Jedi have become ensnared in politics."

Maris continued to stare at her. "I don't think I've ever heard of a Jedi speaking openly against the Republic or the Council before. If you feel so strongly, why didn't you stay and try to affect a change?"

"I did try," Chiara told her, a hint of sadness touching her sapphire eyes. She shrugged, pushing away the fleeting emotion and focusing on the guests before her. "It made no difference. It is clear to me that this is where I am supposed to be, so this is where I will stay."

Thrawn leaned forward to brush the back of her hand with his cool fingertips. It was meant as a gesture of comfort, she knew, and was as close to a physical embrace as he would get in public. She inclined her head slightly in his direction and gave him a grateful half-smile.

"I'm sure this is all very interesting," Qennto interrupted with a bored expression on his face, overriding whatever question Maris had been about to ask next. "But I would like to know just how long you wanted us to stick around."

Chiara caught a flash of annoyance in Thrawn's face at the Captain's rudeness, but he smoothed the expression away almost as quickly as it appeared. "I had intended to leave that choice largely to you," Thrawn told him. "After I have finished examining your vessel, of course."

"Good," the big man grunted, getting to his feet. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to head back to the resting area. Maris?"

"I think I'll stay here, Dubrak. I would like to join Car'das for these language lessons of his," Ferasi told him. "Assuming you don't mind, that is," she added, looking askance at Thrawn and Chiara.

Thrawn smiled at her. "You are welcome to join us, Ferasi."

Qennto grunted and he cast a mildly hostile look in Thrawn's direction. "Suit yourself."

Chiara's eyes followed him as he lumbered out of the room, wondering at his bad attitude. She wasn't normally one to question Thrawn's way of doing things, but he seemed to have alienated the captain quite effectively by choosing to negotiate with his junior crewer. She could understand why he might feel that way, too. She made a note to herself to ask Thrawn why he madet that particular choice.

Thrawn set his glass of _vikn _aside. "Shall we begin, then?"

"What is your impression of our guests?" Thrawn asked Chiara that evening as they collected their dinners and headed towards an unoccupied table in the corner or the mess hall that would afford them some privacy.

"Car'das and Ferasi I like. They both seem like good, honest people," She told him, sinking into her chair. "Well, as honest as smugglers can get, at any rate. Captain Qennto I'm not quite so sure about. I think his hostility is mainly due to you choosing to negotiate with Car'das instead of with him, but it's hard to tell."

"Yes, he does seem to be put off by that. Still, I believe it was worth it to get honest answers from Car'das. Captain Qennto would have certainly given the answers that he believed would manipulate the situation best to his advantage," Thrawn observed.

"You're probably right. Although, knowing that I am a Jedi usually discourages people from lying when am around. Most people have a much higher opinion of our abilities than is entirely accurate," Chiara told him wryly.

"I doubt that would work on Captain Qennto; he seemed rather unimpressed by the fact that you are a Jedi," Thrawn replied, taking a bite of the spicy _hilci._

"That's a good point," Chiara said, slicing off a small piece of the meat. She had tried the _hilci_ before, but the _k'imsi vuveb _wasn't something she'd had before. Now, sniffing at the strong aroma that rose from the dish, she wasn't quite so sure that choosing it had been a good idea. Nevertheless, she cautiously took a bite of the dish. The spices spread across her tongue like a roaring fire, burning her mouth and making her eyes tear up. She coughed as she tried to choke the bite down, seizing her glass to chase down the offending piece of meat with a drink.

Thrawn's expression was a mixture of concern and amusement as his fingers brushed the back of her hand. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Chiara managed to get out, her eyes watering as she took a large gulp from her glass. "I wasn't expecting that to be so heavily spiced."

Thrawn chuckled. "Even after three years, you still haven't gotten used to our food."

"I don't think I ever will," Chiara told him ruefully, wiping moisture from her eyes and sipping at her drink again. Her mouth still felt like it was on fire.

Thrawn smiled and shook his head slightly at her as he smoothly switched their dishes. "You can do almost everything you set your mind to, yet you can't learn to pronounce Cheunh correctly or eat proper Chiss food. What kind of Jedi are you?" he teased.

Chiara shot him a mock glare. "I'd like to see you deal with being transplanted into an alien culture," she grumbled, spooning up a bit of the _hilci._

"Just for that, I believe I will take my _hilci_ back," Thrawn growled back, reaching for the bowl.

Chiara brandished her knife at him. "Don't make me stab you in the hand with this rather dull knife," she warned.

Thrawn held up his hands in surrender. "I would hate to get into a knife fight with a Jedi," he said, his eyes glittering with amusement. "Especially in the middle of the mess. It would hardly set a good example for my warriors."

"You're just afraid they would take my side," Chiara shot back.

The amused look vanished instantly. "Only until I gave an order," Thrawn returned flatly, his expression going a little stiff. Chiara winced inwardly, knowing she had pushed him too far: He accepted her teasing with good grace and frequently answered in kind, but she was still learning exactly where the line was with him. Apparently, she had just crossed it.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, dropping her gaze to her food. She remembered belatedly that he hated it when she avoided his gaze simply because she felt the slightest bit of tension between them and forced herself to look back up, meeting his glowing eyes.

Thrawn took a deep breath and let it out, the tension fading from his face as he exhaled. "No need to apologize, _Elor'endil_, I overreacted. I am the one who should be apologizing. Will you forgive me?"

"There is nothing to forgive. I should know better than to tease you about the loyalties of your warriors," she told him, sliding her hand across the table and taking his briefly. She picked up her spoon again and started on her _hilci_. "Now, didn't we get a new report on the Vagaari movement, today? I didn't get a chance to look it over."

"We did indeed," he told her, changing gears easily. "The scouts think they have found some evidence that they have been amassing a few sectors over. They are going to investigate and try to find what they are up to. I very much want to see what exactly their battle tactics are and just how much of a threat they truly pose to the Ascendancy."

"Perhaps I should help, once we get back to the base," Chiara suggested. "I might be able to locate them more easily than your warriors."

Thrawn shook his head. "No. With these Corellians here, I need you with me. The warriors are fully trained in searches, I'm sure they will be able to find them. It may take a little longer than it would take you, but they will still find them."

Chiara smiled at how carefully he enunciated the world "Corellian" after he had mispronounced it, earlier. "You have a point. Very well, then; I'll stay here with you and let your warriors have all the fun, dashing around in clawcrafts. Who knows? Maybe I will pick up something in these language lessons that I missed the first time around."

Chiara strode down the hall nearly three standard days later, coming to a stop outside the humans' quarters. Nodding to the surreptitious guard positioned a few meters down the corridor, Chiara keyed the door alert. Counting to three to give the smugglers a chance to prepare themselves, she touched the control and the door slid open in front of her.

Car'das and Ferasi were sitting at the table, apparently poring over the vocabulary lists Thrawn had given them to study. Qennto was lying on the bed, with his arms crossed over his broad chest, clearly brooding again. Car'das looked up brightly as Chiara entered.

"It's not time for our language lesson yet is it, Matao?" the young man asked.

Chiara gave him a wry smile. "Please, Car'das, stop calling me that. You can call me Chiara. It's not time for the language lesson, yet. We will be arriving at the base shortly and Thrawn thought you might find it interesting to see the base from the outside."

"Oh, sure Chiara. It certainly sounds interesting. Rak, Maris?" He invited.

"Sure, why not," Qennto said, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and getting to his feet. "It's got to be more interesting than sitting around here."

"Before we go, Chiara, I wonder if you could demonstrate the pronunciation of a few of these words for us?" Maris spoke up, offering one of the vocabulary lists to her.

"I wouldn't suggest using me as a model for your pronunciation," Chiara told her drily. "I still can't speak Cheunh properly, even after three years of living among the Chiss. They can usually understand me well enough, but I often amuse them greatly with my mispronunciations."

"I see," Maris said, absorving that information. "But you can still communicate with them effectively enough. That is the most important thing."

"True," Chiara said, turning towards the door. "I still have to revert to Sy Bisti on occasion to get my point across. I get the job done one way or another, though."

The smugglers followed her down the corridors to the bridge. Thrawn looked up and gave her the barest hint of a smile of greeting as she entered. His eyes drifted over her shoulder to the humans trailing along behind her and he nodded in greeting. Chiara saw him relay a few more orders to the navigations specialist he was standing behind before circling around to join them at the back of the bridge. "There," he said, indicating one of the larger asteroids visible through the viewport. "The large asteroid with the slow rotation. That's our base."

"That wobble must make it hard to dock with," Ferasi observed.

"It _does_ require a certain degree of skill," Thrawn conceded, lifting his eybrows microscopically. Chiara could tell he wanted to see if the humans would catch on to why they had selected this asteroid, in particular. Car'das was staring hard at the asteroid, clearly considering why Thrawn might have chosen this for his base.

"You've got a passive sensor array at one end. The wobble lets it sweep the whole sky instead of just one spot," he said finally.

"But why spin the whole asteroid?" Ferasi put in, her expression puzzled. "Couldn't you just rotate the array?"

"Sure he could," Qennto growled. "But then there'd be something moving on the surface an enemy might spot. This way everything's all nice and quiet and peaceful, right up to the minute when he blows their ships out from under them."

Chiara threw an amused smile at Thrawn. "Essentially correct," he said. "Though we're not expecting enemies to actually come calling. Still, it's wise to take precautions."

"And they didn't blow _our_ ship out from under us," Ferasi told Qennto, tapping his chest.

"So we're in Chiss space now?" Car'das asked to distract them from the glower Qennto was giving Ferasi.

"Yes and no," Chiara told him. "There are some survey and observation teams here, but this is hardly an example of a proper Chiss system. The second planet is quite nice, though, and will probably be opened up to full colonization within a few years. At that point, it will come officially under the protection and control of the Nine Ruling Families."

"I hope you're not expecting us to stay for opening ceremonies," Qennto muttered darkly.

"Of course not," Thrawn assured the big man. "We tell you this simply because you might wish to return someday and see what we've made of the Crustai system."

"You've named it already?" Ferasi asked.

"The initial survey team always has that honor," Thrawn explained. "In this case, the name Crustai is an acronym for-"

"Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo," one of the crew members called in Cheunh, interrupting Thrawn's explanation. "The scouts report a ship of strangers nearby, on the far edge of the system."

"Prepare for lightspeed," Thrawn commanded, abandong the humans and crossing the distance to his command chair in three long strides. Chiara was only a step behind him. She peered over his shoulder at the row of status lights and sensor displays as Thrawn keyed a new heading over the the navigation station. "Bring us onto this heading."

"Acknowledged," the helmsman replied. Chiara steadied herself with one hand on the back of Thrawn's chair as the _Springhawk _veered portside and began picking up speed. She ignored the chatter of the humans behind her as they speculated about what was going on, focusing on the status readouts on one of Thrawn's screens.

"Sir, tactical analysis of the images sent by the scouts seems to indicate that this is a Vagaari ship," one of the officers called.

Chiara peered over Thrawn's shoulder at the display where the information they knew about the intruding ship was displayed. It was a mid-sized cruiser, about the size of the _Springhawk_ or perhaps a bit larger, flanked by a pair of fighters. It was large enough to potentially cause them a good deal of trouble. "How heavily do you think they are armed?" she murmured to Thrawn.

"Commander, jump coordinates are ready," one of the navigation techs cut in before Thrawn could answer.

"We're about to find out," Thrawn told Chiara, his expresson tightening briefly. He raised his voice to address the helmsman. "Execute jump."

Chiara gripped the back of his chair a little tighter as they entered hyperspace and the timer counted down to zero. It was a good thing, too; no sooner had they dropped out of hyperspace than the deck rocked beneath her feet as the two fighters spit laserfire and missiles at them. The crew had already raised the shields, though, and the fire did little damage to the _Springhawk_. The deck stopped shaking as the fighters flew out of firing range and flipped over for another run.

"Thrawn, did you notice that the missiles were always-"

"Preceded by a patterned salvo of laserfire?" Thrawn finished for her, his glowing eyes glittering as he keyed orders in for the gunners. "I did indeed and I know just how to use that to our advantage. Helm, bring us about."

The fighters split apart as the approached, each angling for a different side of the ship, probably hoping to decrease their ability to respond quickly and accurately by splitting their attention. Chiara smiled tightly; they clearly knew nothing of Thrawn or his warriors, if they thought this simple tactic would gain them anything. As ordered, the weapons specialists waited for the salvo of laserfire that Thrawn and Chiara had observed before opening up with the masers, spitting blue fire at the oncoming fighters. With a brilliant flash, the two fighters exploded almost simultaneously.

"Close with the cruiser," Thrawn ordered, not showing the slightest bit of gloating over the easy destruction of the enemy fighters. "Be ready for their counterattack."

As if on cue, the cruiser swung around and unleashed a volley of missiles at the _Springhawk_. A flurry of blue fire answered as the Chiss gunners vaporized the missiles at a safe distance. In response, the enemy vessel rolled ninety degrees over and launched another salvo of missiles. This threat was neutralized easily enough, as were the third and fourth missile groups.

Apparently, that was all the missile clusters that the other ship had. Thrawn waited for a just a moment to confirm this before ordering the _Springhawk_ to come alongside and lock on to the enemy ship. The helmsman maneuvered smoothly up to the alien vessel, matching their attempts to move away easily. Chiara heard the dull thud of maglocks engaging.

"Go," Thrawn ordered, standing smoothly and heading towards where the three humans stood waiting at the rear of the bridge. "My apologies," he said, switching to Basic. "I hadn't intended to take you into danger this way. But the opportunity presented itself, and I needed to take it."

"That's all right, Commander. And it didn't look like we were in _that_ much danger," Car'das said as Chiara joined them.

Thrawn shrugged fractionally. "As it turned out." He stepped over to the bank of lockers on the rear wall and pulled out two armored vac suits. "Your quarters are too close to the boarding area for safety, so I'll ask you to remain here until we return," he told them, handing one of the suits to Chiara.

"You're going in personally?" Ferasi asked, a frown creasing her normally smooth forehead.

"I command these warriors. Part of my duty is to share in their danger," Thrawn told her, stepping into his vac suit.

"Be careful," Ferasi said, sounding almost embarassed. Chiara paused in putting her own vac suit on, glancing at the other woman. Surely she wasn't developping any untowards attractions to Thrawn? She reached out with the Force, trying to get a sense of the other woman's emotions.

"Don't worry," Thrawn said, giving Ferasi a microscopic smile. He slapped the final seal on his suit closed, then moved to help Chiara with hers. Annoyed at his interruption of her Force probe, she brushed his help aside. His glowing eyes searched hers for a moment, but he apparently decided this was neither the time nor the place to inquire about her refusal. "The vessel is mostly likely severely undercrewed," he told the humans, retrieving their helmets and a charric from the locker. "And Chiss warriors are the best there are. We will return soon."

As she finished sealing her suit and clipped her lightsaber to her belt, Chiara examined her reaction to Thrawn and to Ferasi. Why did she feel this sudden animosity and suspicion towards the latter? She had certainly caught a flicker of some sort of attachment and attraction from the other woman. _Am I... jealous?_ she wondered. Yes, she decided as she accepted her helmet from Thrawn and followed him to the door. That was it. She had noticed Ferasi's obvious admiration for Thrawn over the last few days during their language lessons; her expression of concern had been the final spark to light the suspicion that had been slowly growing in her mind that the smuggler was enamored with Thrawn.

"Would you like to tell me what that was about before we head into battle together, Chiara?" Thrawn asked quietly as the door to the bridge slid shut behind them.

"It's nothing," Chiara told him, feeling her cheeks turn scarlet. Sometimes, she wished he wasn't quite so observant.

"It didn't look like 'nothing' to me," he pressed, taking her arm and drawing her to a stop. Unwillingly, she let him turn her so she faced him. Her gaze lingered on his sculpted features for a moment before she met his glowing eyes. _Is it any wonder Ferasi is attracted to him? He's easily one of the most physically attractive men I've met in a very long time, and he is incredibly intelligent._ "Chiara?" he prompted when she didn't answer.

"Alright," she sighed, giving in. "I'm jealous. I know it's irrational, but I am."

Thrawn stared at her, clearly not following her train of thought. She could see him replaying the conversation from the bridge in his head, trying to pick up on what she was referring to. She could see it click in his mind just as clearly. "Jealous of Ferasi?"

Chiara hung her head. "Yes. I know I'm overreacting, but I can't help it, at the moment."

Thrawn lifted her chin gently with a gloved finger. "What am I going to do with you? A lone human woman shows up and within four days, you are jealous. I have no interest in Ferasi, _Elor'endil_. I have no desire to be with anyone but you."

"I know," she whispered, feeling ashamed of her reaction. Thrawn glanced swiftly down the corridor to make sure they were alone, but all the warriors were already gathered at the boarding area. He closed the gap between them swiftly, his warm lips pressing against hers.

He stepped away just as quickly, one hand dropping to the small of her back to propel her towards the boarding area. "We can discuss this further when we return. We have a ship full of alien hostiles to subdue, right now."

It took less than an hour for them to eliminate the relatively small Vagaari crew. The small aliens put up a tremendous fight, given their small size, but they were able track them all down without any serious injury to the Chiss warriors. The one ambush that the bridge crew missed warning them about, Chiara sensed through the Force and was able to protect the warriors from the massive barrage of laserfire that the Vagaari unleashed upon them.

What they discovered once they began examining the ship was nothing short of astonishing. Chiara and Thrawn were studying the hasty and sloppy repairs that had been done to the corridor walls when Thisa hurried up to them.

"Commander, I believe you will want to see this. It would seem that your assessment that the Vagaari are pirates is correct; we've found a large treasure hoard," the Lieutenant told them.

Thrawn straightened from where he had been bending over a patch of sealant that had been slapped onto the wall. "Lead the way," he told the other, his glowing eyes glittering in anticipation. He always enjoyed seeing his predictions come true about a race which was still relatively unknown to them, Chiara knew. It wasn't out of pride, but an appreciation for the affirmation of skills that many other Chiss still doubted. Chiara had encouraged him to continue developing his skills at finding insight into another species from their artwork and whatever other information they could glean about them, but many in the Chiss Defense Fleet heirarchy still held his abilities in doubt, believing that Thrawn's unconventional methods could not be as foolproof as the more traditional methods.

The two of them fell into step behind Thisa as he threaded between the bodies of the Vagaari and lead them down a side corridor to where a door stood open. Chiara caught her breath as they stepped through. Clearly, this ship had been headed for home when they overtook it; the room was packed with treasure of all kinds. There were an assortment of bins along one wall, filled with coins, gems and some sort of packages. Piles of metal ingots towered at various points of the room, held in place by acceleration webbing. There was a line of heavy cabinets against one wall for items that needed to be kept under lock and key.

Thrawn, Chiara noticed, was already engrossed in studying the various bits of artwork that were scattered haphazardly around the room. He turned to her after a moment, his glowing eyes flickering with quiet excitement. "This could be it: The key to understanding the Vagaari and their habits. Who they prey on, what their attack strategies are likely to be to defeat these races, and what it is that they seek from those whom they conquer."

Chiara stepped up beside him, brushing her fingers against his. "If anyone can piece that together from all of this, it's you," she told him.

He paused his study of the artwork long enough to give her a grateful smile. "Do you recognize any of these? It could be that they have preyed on worlds from the Republic."

She looked around the room, searching for anything that seemed familiar. After a few minutes, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't see anyth- wait, that one over there," she went over and knelt beside it to get a closer look. Thrawn followed her, running one hand through his short cropped blue-black hair as he studied the sculpt. "Yes, I do recognize this. In fact, I think I've seen this exact piece before; it was in the House of Parliament for the Ivethran. I negotiated a treaty with an agressor from a neighboring system for them about two hundred years ago."

Thrawn stared at the sculpture in silence for a few moments. "They are not humanoid, are they? The angular model of the sculpture seems to indicate an insect-like race, most likely one with six legs and two sets of pincers. They are a very timid species, though, one that prefers to hide rather than engage in open conflict."

Chiara shook her head in amazement. "I don't think it will ever cease to amaze me when I see you do that. You described the Ivethran perfectly; when I arrived to mediate for them, they had given up nearly half their planet to the invaders. It took quite a lot of work for me to get them off the planet, since they were already so well established."

"Do you recognize anything else?" Thrawn asked, climbing back to his feet and glancing around the room.

"No, but you might consider asking our Corellian guests. Qennto and Ferasi seem to have traveled the galaxy quite extensively and have probably spent more time in the outer fringes of the Republic than I have," she suggested.

"An excellent suggestion," Thrawn said, reaching for his comlink. "But that will have to wait until we reach the base. For now, I'm merely interested in seeing their reaction to all of this.

It didn't take long for the humans to be brought on board. "Come, I want you to see something," Thrawn called to them, stepping out into the corridor and beckoning them forward. Car'das, she noted looked a bit queasy. Probably from all of the bodies, she decided. "What are your thoughts?" he asked, gesturing around them when the three smugglers came to a halt.

"I think they were probably very poor. You can see where they've had to patch and repatch just to keep everything operating," Maris pointed out, a hard edge in her tone. "This isn't a military ship, certainly not one that could have been a threat to the Chiss."

"I agree," Thrawn said, turning to look at her, "So; poor people, you think. Nomads?"

"Or refugees."

Chiara couldn't help but feel a little satisfied by the growing disapproval she heard and sensed in the other woman's voice. Not that the disapproval was likely to last long when she found out just who and what the Vagaari were. "They had an awful lot of missiles for refugees," she pointed out.

"They didn't do the passengers much good, did they?" Maris retorted.

"No, but it wasn't from lack of trying," Thrawn replied, giving Chiara a warning look. "And you, Captain? What's _your_ reading of this?"

"I don't know and I don't especially care," Qennto said evenly. "They fired first, right?"

Thrawn's shrug was almost imperceptible. "Not entirely true. One of the sentries I had stationed here happened to be close enough as they came through to disable their hyperdrive. Car'das? Your opinion?"

The young man looked around, examing the walls and the alien bodies strewn about. "These aren't the ones who did the repairs, are they?"

"Very good," Thrawn answered, a ghost of a smil touching his lips. "No, they aren't."

"What do you mean?" Qennto asked with a frown.

"These aliens are too tall," Car'das explained, pointing to the wall. "See here, where the sealant patter changes texture? That's where whoever was slopping it on had to go get a ladder or a floatpad to finish the job."

"And that worker was much shorter than the masters of this vessel," Chiara finished for him. She glanced at Ferasi. "This vessel has been repaired repeatedly, as you said. But not by its owners."

Ferasi's eyes went cold and her lips compressed into a thin line as she glanced at the dead bodies. "They were slavers."

"Indeed," Thrawn said. "Are you still angry at me for killing them?"

Chiara had to work hard to rein in her own anger that flared up at Thrawn for that simple question. Why should he care what this human thought of him killing the Vagaari? _This is not a logical reaction_, she told herself, stretching out to the Force for calm. _He's being polite and there is no reason to alienate them over something like this. Besides, it's not in his nature to let someone think poorly of him when something isn't true._

"I'm sorry," Ferasi answered simply, blushing.

"I understand," Thrawn replied. His glowing eyes flicked to Chiara, taking in her expression. One blue-black eyebrow arched almost imperceptibly in question. Still trying to grapple with the jealousy that gripped her, Chiara shook her head slightly. The other eyebrow went up in answer to that and Chiara could tell from his expression that they would be discussing this later. _Great_, she thought.

"Are we done here yet?" Qennto asked, oblivious to the silent exchange.

"Not quite," Thrawn said, turning his attention back to the smugglers. "Come and look."

The trio followed them back into the treasure room, all gasping in surprise as they stepped into the room. "What in the _worlds_?" Ferasi breathed.

"A treasure vessel, carrying the plunder of many worlds, Thrawn said, slipping into the room behind them. He let one hand rest casually on Chiara's back in a gesture that Chiara knew was anything but casual; he seldom touched her in such a way even in front of their friends, let alone a group of three stangers. She recognized the touch for what it was- an unspoken reassurance of his love for her, even as he spoke to the woman who had awoken such jealousy within her. She tried to relax and let her frustration drain away as she inclined her head gratefully towards Thrawn. The frustration refused to leave, "They were not only slavers, but pirates and raiders as well," Thrawn went on.

"You sound like you already know these people," Car'das observed, glancing back at Thrawn.

"Only by reputation," Thrawn told him, his gentle tone belaying the tension in his face and sense as he surveyed the room. "At least, up until now."

"You've been hunting them?" Car'das pressed.

That brought a frown to Thrawn's handsome features. "Of course not. The Vagaari have made no move against the Chiss Ascendancy. We therefore have no reason to hunt them."

"But you know their name," Qennto pointed out.

"As Thrawn said, we know their reputation," Chiara told him. "They've been moving across this region of space for the last ten years, preying mainly on the technologically primitive or weak."

"What about their slaves?" Ferasi asked. "Do you know anything about them?"

Thrawn shook his head. "We haven't found any aboard this vessel. From that, and from this room, I presume they were en route to their main base."

"And they off-loaded the slaves to keep them from finding out where that base is?" Car'das asked.

"Exactly," Thrawn said, nodding in approval. "The crew complement is smaller than one would expect for a vessel of this size, as well. That indicates they weren't expecting trouble, but instead intended to go straight home."

"Yes, you mentioned back on the bridge that they were undercrewed. How did you know that?" Car'das inquired.

"I deduced it from the fact that their defense was sluggish and mostly ineffectual," Thrawn told him. "They did little but launch missiles, all running the same countermeasures we'd already seen. A fully crewed vessel would have had laser gunners in place and would have shifted the defense patterns of their missiles. Clearly, they were expecting their escort to do any fighting that became necessary."

"And boy, were they wrong," Qennto muttered. "You had them outclassed from the start."

"Hardly," Chiara told him. "We merely noticed that in both of their attacks, there was a distinct and predictable pattern to the laserfire that preceded the launch of missiles. Thrawn was able to find a way to use that against them by firing just as the launch tubes' protective doors opened on the third salvo. The missiles detonated before they could launch and destroyed the fighters from within."

"You see? Nothing to it," Car'das said drily.

"Yeah," Qennto said, his lip twisting. "Right."

"So what happens now?" Maris asked.

"We will have the vessel towed back to Crustai for further study," Chiara told her.

"Question," Qennto said, raising a finger. "You told Car'das you'd be giving us some extra stuff as payment for helping you practice your Basic, right?"

"That wasn't precisely the way I stated it, but that's essentially correct," Thrawn told him.

"And the longer we stay, the more extras we get?"

Thrawn exchanged a smile with Chiara. Yes, there was the typical Corellian smuggler greed she had warned him about. "That may be possible," Thrawn said. "I thought you were in a rush to return home."

"No, no, there's no hurry," Qennto said, his diffident manner disappearing as he gazed around the treasure room with interest. "No hurry at all."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Chiara leaned over the shoulder of the tractor beam specialist, watching as he carefully maneuvered the Vagaari ship into the orbit prescribed by Thrawn. With expert moves, the crewman tapped at his controls, bringing the other ship to a halt a few hundred meters from the asteroid base. He held the ship steady for a moment, ensuring that all of the motion had dissipated before releasing the ship from the tractor beam, leaving it parked above the base where it would be easy to get to for further study. Thrawn would send out a tech team to anchor it to the base once they had completed a preliminary safety check of the vessel.

"Well done, Csapla'rdri'ska," Chiara murmured.

The young tech glanced over her shoulder. "Thank you, Jedi," she said gravely. Chiara supressed a smile at the seriousness with which this young warrior took her compliment. The woman had only arrived on the base a few weeks before and was still acclimating to being on assignment away from Crustai and her family. Chiara had been keeping a close eye on her, but she seemed to be adjusting well.

"Helm, take us in," Thrawn ordered from his command chair. Chiara turned towards him and the humans that stood clustered behind him and moved to join them. The_ Springhawk_ slipped into the hidden entrance tunnel and shot down the long, curving tunnel towards the hangar. Chiara frowned and exchanged a concerned look with Thrawn as she caught a glimpse of the colored lights blinking slowly between the approach markers. Apparently, they had a visitor. She could see from the hint of tension around Thrawn's eyes that he, too, was wondering if this was someone coming to deliver a reprimand, either for the activities of today or the Dasdardan incident nearly two weeks before. Probably the Dasdardan, she decided - there was no way High Command could have gotten wind of the Vagaari treasure ship, yet. She had no doubt that they would express their displeasure quite loudly once they did, though.

"Impressive place. Is this typical Chiss construction?" Car'das asked, breaking into Chiara's thoughts.

"Not at all," Thrawn said, his eyes still fixed on the approach markers. "Most bases are on the surface. I wanted this one to be more difficult for potential enemies to penetrate."

"Hardly an original idea," Qennto said, watching the helmsman's manueverings closely. The speed with which they were taking the winding tunnel seemed to make all three of the smugglers uncomfortable. "You make the approach tricky so an attacker has to come at you slowly. 'Course, that makes it just as hard to get your own ships out, but that's the price you pay."

"There are ways of minimizing that particular problem," Chiara told him. She and Thrawn had spent several days designing a system that would allow their ships and fighters to launch quickly in the event of an attack. "The Defense Fleet is currently working with this same concept on a larger scale at another base that is under development."

"Interesting," Thrawn murmured, clearly not paying attention to their conversation. "That pattern of colored lights woven between the approach markers," he explained, pointing out the viewport to the wall directly ahead. "It indicates the presence of visitors."

"Is that good or bad?" Ferasi asked.

"That depends on who the visitors are." Chiara could feel Thrawn's tension in the Force for the next few minutes until they rounded the final curve and emerged from the tunnel and into the landing bay. Chiara scanned the bay, looking for their visitor's ship.

"Ah, our guests are from the Fifth Ruling Family," Thrawn said as she spotted the ship.

"How can you tell?" Ferasi asked.

"By the design and markings of the spacecraft. I can also tell that the visitor is of direct but peripheral family lineage," Thrawn told them.

"So is that good or bad?" Car'das asked.

"Mostly neutral," Thrawn said, exchanging a relieved look with Chiara. "The Fifth Family has interests in this region, so this is most likely a routine survey. Certainly someone of higher rank, and from the First or Eighth Families, would have come to deliver a reprimand. You'll all be my guests at the welcoming ceremony, of course. You may find it interesting."

* * *

Chiara had been through enough welcoming ceremonies to no longer find them fascinating, but clearly Car'das didn't share that opinion. He stood beside her and watched intently as Thrawn and Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano exchanged the formal greetings required for a visitor of his rank. She briefly considered whispering a running translation to the smuggler so he could understand more than a word here or there, but given who their guest was and the contempt with which he always treated her, she thought better of it. Qennto and Maris stood on the other side of their junior crewer and both looked bored by the whole proceedings.

Once the ceremony finally wound down, Thrawn led the Aristocra over to where they waited. "May I present Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano of the Fifth Ruling Family," he said in Sy Bisti, obviously choosing a language that all parties could use. "These are Corellian traders, visitors from a far world."

"Are you bringing more of these outsiders into the Ascendancy? They look like your alien mate," Chaf'orm'bintrano snapped.

"In Sy Bisti, Aristocra, if you please. They do not understand Cheunh," Thrawn said, clearly working to keep his face and voice neutral. Anyone who didn't know him as well as she did would miss it entirely, but she was well acquainted with the subtle signs of strained patience already creeping into his face and sense.

"I have no more interest in communicating with these aliens than I have in speaking with her," the Aristocra said caustically, throwing a disdainful glance in Chiara's direction.

Thrawn's mouth tightened briefly and Chiara felt his flash of anger through the Force. He reined it in quickly, though. "Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano is not interestedin communicating with you at present," he said to the smugglers. "One of my warriors will show you to your quarters. My apologies."

"No apologies needed, Commander," Car'das assured him, giving the Aristocra a half-bow. "None at all."

"I'll take them to their quarters," Chiara murmured to Thrawn, not feeling particularly keen on the idea of sticking around the Aristocra. He had visited the base a handful of times before and his resentment of her presence had remained unabated, despite her best attempts at being the perfect hostess. After his last trip, she had given up on the hope that he would ever accept her but still continued to dutifully fulfill her role as hostess.

Thrawn merely nodded wordlessly, his expression conveying his silent apology to her, as well. She knew that he took the way the Aristocra treated her more personally than she did; it was always a severe test of his patience to avoid breaking the rules of conduct towards a member of the Ruling Families when the Aristocra made harsh comments towards or about her.

"This way," she said to the humans, leading the way out of the welcoming chamber.

"What's the Aristocra's problem?" Car'das asked once they had made it a safe distance down the corridor, switching back to Basic.

"Don't take it personally, he doesn't like me, either," Chiara told him drily. "The Chiss are a very xenophobic species and don't take easily to outsiders. Some of them are slower than others to warm up to the idea of an alien living amongst them."

"I thought you said you had been here for almost three years," Ferasi said.

"I have been," Chiara told her, throwing an appraising glance over her shoulder at the woman. She still wasn't pleased with the way the woman was acting around Thrawn and it took quite a bit of effort to keep her displeasure from showing. "It was quite a shock to the Chiss when Thrawn took me as his mate. To the best of my knowledge, it's only happened a handful of times before in Chiss history. They are a very xenophobic people and seldom associate with outsiders at all."

"I see," Car'das said. "How did you two end up together, anyway? I thought the Jedi weren't supposed to be romantically involved."

Chiara gave him a wry smile. "We're not. It's a bit of a long story, perhaps I'll tell it to you some other time. Let's just say that neither of us really saw it coming. Ah, here we are," she said, coming to a stop outside a door in the barracks section of the base. "Car'das, you have this room. Qennto and Ferasi will be next door. Thrawn and I will give you a tour of the base later, but for now, I will ask you to remain in your quarters."

"Sure," Qennto said, keying open the door to the next room over and easing Ferasi through ahead of him.

"Thank you, Chiara," Car'das said, inclining his head politely to her. "I will look forward to the tour later."

* * *

Four hours later, Chiara was sitting in the quarters she shared with Thrawn, going over the reports on base activity during the eight days they had been gone, when she heard the door slide open. She looked up see Thrawn step in and gave him a smile. As he crossed to sit beside her on the couch, she noted that he looked weary and frustrated. Probably a result of the time he had spent with the Aristocra, she knew. Wordlessly, he slipped one arm around her waist and kissed her cheek.

"You look tired," she observed, threading her fingers through his.

"Merely worn by the Aristocra's poor behavior," Thrawn assured her. "How he can continue to treat you with such contempt after all you have done for the Ascendancy, I will never understand."

"I would say it is clear at this point he will never change," Chiara told him wryly. "There's no point in wasting energy over something that you can't do anything about and it doesn't really bother me that much, anymore. Just let it go."

"You always have been more forgiving of slights against you than I am," Thrawn observed.

"When you've lived almost 400 years, you develop a pretty thick skin for such things," Chiara said with a smile. "You're still such a young thing. You'll learn, though."

Thrawn snorted at her teasing. "And yet, I'm the more mature of the two of us," he observed sardonically.

Chiara dug her elbow into his ribs. "I resent the implications of that," she complained. There was no weight behind her words, though, and Thrawn understood that she didn't mean it. "So, what did the Aristocra have to say about the Vagaari treasure ship?"

"Predictably enough, he was less than impressed," Thrawn told her, his tone laced with frustration. "I suspect a formal reprimand will follow not too long after he returns to Csilla. He even went so far as to imply that you are instigating me to make these strikes and that you should be banned from Chiss space."

Chiara felt her eyes go wide and she sat up, looking at Thrawn in alarm. "They wouldn't actually do that, would they?"

"I doubt it. You've made too many allies in the Eighth Family. Aristocra Mitt'osks'anik wouldn't sit still for it, that much is certain." Thrawn looked thoughtful. "I think it more likely that High Command would enforce the rules about not having civilians on a base and make you to return to Csilla or some other colony. It might be prudent to make sure that you are not around whenever the next strike occurs. A visit to Anisi, perhaps?"

"That wouldn't be a bad idea," Chiara agreed. Technically speaking, an officer's mate wasn't allowed to live with him at his base unless that mate was an officer, as well. Even if they were both part of the Fleet, they usually spent most of their time on separate assignments and seldom saw each other. The fact that she wasn't Chiss had allowed them to get around this, since she had no ties or responsibilities to any Family to keep her on Csilla or any other Chiss world. And, although many of the Chiss had come to accept her, it still seemed that they universally agreed that they preferred for her to stay with Thrawn and away from mainstream Chiss culture. High Command hadn't objected to her presence on the base, given all the combat expertise she brought the table and the Chiss lives she protected every time they went into battle. Her tactical abilities were improving, too, as time went on and she spent more time working out strategies with Thrawn and learning from him. Still, they both knew this tolerance of her presence could change at any time if they weren't careful about this fine line that they walked. "I wouldn't mind seeing Anisi again, either," she added. The petite Chiss woman was rising quickly through the ranks of the Defense Fleet, her skill and family connections propelling her into a command position only a year or so after Thrawn had assumed command of the Crustai base.

"All the same, I would prefer that you not have to leave at all," Thrawn said, a troubled look clouding his face. "Your place is here by my side. And, attachments aside, you are invaluable to me both in the planning of such attacks and in carrying them out. I do not relish the thought of going into battle without you there to assist me."

"You are more than capable of planning and carrying out a strike without me," Chiara said. "I may make things easier, but you don't have to have me."

"It is not the ultimate outcome of the battle that concerns me, it is the loss of Chiss lives that may occur if you are not there with your Jedi insights and defensive abilities, especially if there is any hand-to-hand combat involved," Thrawn told her.

That was a sobering thought, indeed. Chiss military doctrine, as well as Thrawn's command style, required that the lives of their warriors be protected to the best of their abilities and Thrawn's warriors willingly went into combat knowing that their Commander would do everything in his power to bring them home safely. "I don't like it any more than you do, Thrawn. What other choice do we have, though? It's better for me to miss a single battle than to be sent to one of the colonies and not be here when you truly need me. The only other option is to sit by and allow these threats to the Ascendancy to continue to grow until they make the first move to satisfy the rules of engagement," she pointed out. "How many lives will be lost then?"

"And not just Chiss lives," Thrawn said soberly. "If we can use the captured ship to learn the location of the Vagaari base, how can I justify standing by as mililons of other beings are forced to suffer, simply so that I can keep you here with me?"

"I agree. We cannot be so selfish as to bury our heads in the sand and ignore their plight simply for our own comfort. Hopefully we can keep our separation to a relatively short period of time and hopefully it will be enough to convince the Aristocra and High Command that I am not pushing you to make these strikes," she said.

"Indeed," Thrawn murmured, tightening his arm around her waist. After a moment, he spoke again. "Now, would you like to continue our conversation about your reaction towards Ferasi?"

Chiara sighed. She had spent an hour in meditation when she returned to their quarters, trying to distance herself from her emotions and reactions in an attempt to better understand them. She was able to recognize the ridiculousness of her jealousy, given the fact that Thrawn would never even consider being with another woman and had no interest in Ferasi, yet she still couldn't shake the feeling. And, although Ferasi was the primary target of her negative reaction, she could feel some of the resentment and hurt bleeding over into her interactions with Thrawn. Acknowledging this had made it easier to deal with and minimize, but it hadn't dissipated her reaction entirely.

"I know it's foolish for me to be jealous, Thrawn," she told him. "I know you are completely dedicated to our relationship and would never hurt me that way. I can say that logically, but it doesn't change my gut reaction to Ferasi's interest in you. I know that reaction is coloring my interactions with you, too, but I don't know how to stop it from doing so. I've never felt anything like this before,"

"I am glad that you recognize that I wouldn't betray your trust in such a way," Thrawn told her. "And I find it understandable that you don't know how to cope with this, as you have never been put in this position before. It is something that effects almost all relationships, at one point or another, yet is something you have never been exposed to, as a Jedi." He paused and cocked his head to one side. "Do you truly believe that Ferasi has an inclination towards me? I would think that her relationship with Captain Qennto would prohibit such feelings."

Chiara shook her head. "Things are quite different in the Republic, Thrawn. They aren't married, so they have no lasting attachment to each other. They could stay together for a few months or a few decades and then go their separate ways with little or no warning. It's not terribly surprising or unheard of for someone to have multiple relationships in a relatively short period of time, or even to have multiple relationships at the same time."

That drew a surprised look from Thrawn. Although it wasn't unusual for the Chiss to have relationships prior to taking someone under their protection or being paired by their Families, she knew that such things were usually done quietly and out of the public eye. Once they had taken a mate, all such activity stopped immediately and was considered deplorable behavior. A Chiss could even be released from their Family for bringing dishonor on the Family name by having an affair.

He absorbed this information in silence for a moment. "How would you suggest that I respond to her seeming interest, then? I certainly have no wish to encourage any feelings she may have or to lead her on."

Chiara considered for a moment. "I'm really not sure, Thrawn, this isn't something I've ever come across before. You probably know better than I do. I may be a lot older than you, but you have more experience in many of the more practical areas of life than I do."

"True," he agreed absently, his mind clearly focused on the puzzle of how to respond to Ferasi's seeming interest. "Perhaps I should end their stay in Chiss space sooner then I had originally planned. Would that make you more comfortable?"

That made Chiara smile. As always, Thrawn was ready and willing to do anything within his power for her. _I really am fortunate to have ended up with such a wonderful man_. "That won't be necessary, Thrawn. I just need to figure out how to deal with this new emotion. I will apologize in advance if I accidentally allow my resentment to vent itself on you while I figure this out. I'll try not to, but sometimes I don't realize I am doing it until after the fact."

Thrawn nodded in understanding. "Of course, _Elor'endil_. Is there anything you would like me to do to make this easier for you or to help you?"

"You may need to remind me that I'm not really upset with you if I get out of line," she told him.

"Of course," he agreed, kissing her forehead. "You've gotten quite good at controlling your reactions, though, once you notice them and understand where they are coming from. I doubt it will be necessary."

"I've had quite a bit of practice," Chiara said wryly. "Here I thought that I had adapted to this new life with you and something else creeps in that I have to figure out. I never realized while I was part of the Order what a sheltered life I lived. Yes, I was exposed to conflict and suffering, but I was never actually involved or emotionally invested in any of it. It's completely different, now that I am. Some of the emotions still take me by surprise."

"And yet, you have adapted remarkably well to this change in your lifestyle," Thrawn observed, running his fingers through her dark auburn tresses. "You have certainly become much more adept at recognizing when there is something we need to discuss, rather than holding it in until it becomes a disproportionately large issue."

"Yes. Not to say that our first year together wasn't good, but we had a lot more arguments than were actually necessary because of that. I don't know how you managed to not lose your patience with me," She told him, resting her head against his shoulder.

"You, my _Elor'endil_, are worth every bit of patience I have ever expended on you," Thrawn assured her. "You are an amazing woman and I love you dearly. It has been an honor and a privilege to walk beside you and see you grow in this new life that you have chosen to share with me."

"The honor is all mine," she said earnestly, leaning in to brush her lips across his strong jawline. "I treasure each day we have spent together on this journey and I wouldn't trade this for anything. I'm not the only one who has grown and developed over the last few years. It has been my privilege to see you grow into your command and to assist you in your duties."

Thrawn turned into her touch, his warm lips seeking hers. She inhaled his familiar scent as her lips parted beneath his. She yielded as he pressed her down onto the couch, looping her arms around his neck to draw him after her.

* * *

After dinner, Chiara sat curled up with Thrawn in the viewing room that overlooked the hangar bay, watching the flicker of maneuvering thrusters as the fighters headed out on patrol duties. She didn't bother sitting up or moving away from Thrawn when she heard the door slide open behind them to admit Car'das. He slid his arm out from behind her back, but made no move to create space between them, so she assumed that he was comfortable enough with their current level of physical contact in front of the human. Either that, or he just didn't want to disturb her.

"Good evening, Car'das," Thrawn greeted the young man. "I trust you had a productive day."

"Reasonably productive, yes," Car'das said, crossing the room and sitting down on the other side of Thrawn. He had lost the initial nervousness that colored his sense during that first meeting fairly quickly and had grown progressively more at ease around them in the last four days, Chiara noted. "I worked a little ahead on my language lessons."

"Yes, I know," Thrawn said. "I wanted to apologize for Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano's lack of courtesy."

"I'm sorry he took a dislike to us," Car'das said. "Chiara tells me it's nothing personal, though. I enjoyed the welcoming ceremony, and was looking forward to seeing more of how the Chiss do things."

"Chiara informed you correctly. Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano considers your presence here a threat to the Ascendancy."

"May I ask why?" the young Corellian inquired.

"To some, the unknown always represents a threat," Chiara told him. "And some prefer wall themselves away from the rest of the galaxy. They feel threatened whenever that galaxy intrudes upon their sphere of comfort."

"Sometimes they're right about the unknown being a threat," Car'das answered. "On the other hand, you Chiss seem quite capable of taking care of yourselves in a fight."

"Perhaps. There are times when I wonder," Thrawn said. "Tell me, Car'das, would you be interested in assisting us in examining the contents of the treasure ship in detail?"

"Of course," Car'das said almost automatically. "Though I don't know what help I would be."

"You might recognize some of the artifacts," Chiara told him, getting to her feet as she felt Thrawn shift beside her. He stood smoothly behind her and took a step towards the door. "We know they have preyed on at least one world from the Republic, but there are many Outer Rim worlds I have never visited. You may have additional data that might be helpful."

"In that case, you should also invite Maris and Qennto along," Car'das said, standing up as well. "They've traveled a lot more than I have."

Thrawn glanced at Chiara, silently seeking her opinion. She shrugged fractionally in response. She couldn't avoid Ferasi forever, nor could Thrawn. It would be better for her to get this over and try to work through her jealousy sooner rather than later.

"A good suggestion," Thrawn said, leading the way toward the exit. "That will also give Captain Qennto a chance to choose which of the items he'll wish to keep for himself." The corners of his mouth quirked upward in a smile. "Which will in turn help to establish the relative value of the items."

"You're not cynical at all, are you, Commander?" Car'das said.

"I merely understand how others think and react," Thrawn told him.

Chiara piloted one of the transports out through the tunnels to where the Vagaari ship had been anchored to the asteroid a quarter of the circumference around from the base entrance. The dock on the dilapidated ship was rusty and difficult to use, but she was able to line up the small transport and get a good seal on the first try. Thrawn lead the way out into the corridors, stepping around the alien bodies that still lay where they'd fallen.

"You are planning to clean up this place eventually, aren't you?" he asked as he picked his way through the corridor. Ferasi was clinging to his arm and obviously trying hard not to look at the bodies.

"Eventually," Chiara told him. "We need to study the Vagaari's strategy and tactics first, and for that we need to know where they were and how they were positioned when they died."

"Shouldn't you have put the ship somewhere out of sight?" Ferasi asked, her face pale.

"Eventually, we'll move it inside the base," Thrawn told her as they reached the door to the treasure room. "But we need to first establish that there are no dangerous instabilities in its engines or weaponry." He tapped the controls and stepped through as the door opened for them.

"Spread out and see if you can find anything familiar," Chiara ordered the Corellians.

"You mean like different kinds of money?" Qennto asked, throwing a look around the room.

"Or are you talking about the gemstones?" Ferasi put in.

"She was speaking of the artwork," Thrawn told them. "We can learn more from that than we can from currency or gems."

The Captain snorted derisively. "You expecting there to be sales receipts?"

"I was thinking more of the art's origins." Thrawn indicated a set of nested tressles nearby. "Those, for instance, were probably created by beings with an extra joint between wrist and elbow, who see largely in the blue-ultraviolet part of the spectrum."

"The Frunchies, you think?" Ferasi asked, exchanging a glance with her partner.

"Yeah, right," the big man muttered, eyeing Thrawn suspiciously before he crossed to the indicated artwork.

"Who are the Frunchies?" Chiara asked. She'd never even heard of such a race.

"The Frunchettan-sai," Ferasi told her. "They have a couple of colony worlds in the Outer Rim. Rak calls them Frunchies because-"

"I'll be broggled," Qennto said, cutting her of as he tilted his head to get a better look at the tressles. Chiara could feel shock and amazement rolling off the big man.

"What?" Ferasi asked.

"He's right. It's signed with formal Frunchy script." He turned to Thrawn, his face pulled into an odd expression. "I thought you said you hadn't made it to Republic space."

"To the best of my knowledge, we haven't. Certainly not since Chiara has been with us for the last three years," Thrawn told the other man. "But the artist's physical characteristics are obvious simply from looking at his work."

"Maybe to you it's obvious," the Captain growled. "It sure isn't to me."

"Or me," Ferasi seconded.

Thrawn glanced at Chiara before turning to Car'das with raised eyebrows. "Car'das?" he invited.

Chiara watched as the junior crewer studied the artwork, obviously trying to divine something from the swirl of colors and shapes. "Sorry," he said after a few moments.

"Maybe it was just luck," Qennto said, going over to kneel beside an intricate blue-and-white sculpt. "Let me see here... yeah, I thought so." He threw a glance over his shoulder at Thrawn. "How about this one?"

Chiara moved to stand beside Thrawn as he examined the sculpt silently, his glowing eyes roving around the room now and then. "The artist is humanoid, proportioned differently from humans and Chiss, with either a wider torso or longer arms," he told Qennto. Chiara watched him in quiet and loving amazement, admiring his intelligence and insight that allowed him to make such deductions about an artist simply by looking at his work. "There's something of a distance to his emotional state, too," Thrawn went on. "I would say his people are both drawn to and yet repulsed by or fearful of the physical objects they live among."

Qennto exhaled sharply. "I don't believe this," he muttered. "That's the Pashvi, all right."

"I've never heard of them," Chiara said.

"They've got a system on the edge of Wild Space," Qennto told her. "I've been there a few times - there's a small but stable market for their art, mostly in the Corporate Sector."

"What did Commander Thrawn mean about physical objects?" Car'das asked.

"Their world is sprinkled with thousands of rock pillars. Most of the best food plants grow on the tops. Unfortunately, so does a nasty predator avian. It makes for - well, for pretty much just what he said."

"And you got all that from a single sculpt?" Ferasi asked, clearly in awe. Chiara bit back a surge of resentment the directed itself at the other woman, reaching out to the Force for calm. She caught the flicker of Thrawn's eyes on her face as he gauged her reaction before answering.

"Actually, no," he told Ferasi, putting a hint of frost in his tone. "There are- let me see- twelve more examples of their artwork." He pointed to two other areas of the room.

"You sure?" Car'das asked, looking at the sculpts and flats "They don't look at all alike to me."

"They were created by different artists, but the species is the same," Thrawn assured him.

"This is really weird," Qennto said, shaking his head. "Like some crazy Jedi thing."

Chiara snorted. "I can tell you this is unlike any 'Jedi thing,' Captain Qennto. I would have no more idea about the artist's species than you would, even if I spent hours studying these pieces."

"He meant no offense, Chiara," Ferasi said, stepping forward and raising a hand.

Chiara bit back a caustic remark and turned towards Thrawn, putting her back to the woman. "None taken," she muttered. It was mostly true, she reflected. She hadn't taken any offense at Qennto's attitude or words, merely at Ferasi's.

"I presume these Pashvi won't have put up much resistance to Vagaari raids?" Thrawn asked, stepping in smoothly to redirect the conversation.

"Hardly," Qennto confirmed, his voice grim. "They're a pretty agreeable people. Lousy at fighting."

"And your Republic doesn't protect them? Or the Jedi?"

"You know we're not warriors, Thrawn," Chiara told him, perhaps a bit more sharply than she had intended. Thrawn's eye flashed at her tone and he lifted his eyebrows pointedly at her. "We can't fight wars. Well, the Order can't," she amended, trying to soften her tone.

"Besides, Wild Space isn't actually part of the Republic," Car'das put in helpfully.

"Even if it were, the government is too busy with its own intrigues to bother with little things like life-and-death situations," Ferasi said, bitterness coloring her voice and sense.

"I see," Thrawn said, glancing at Chiara's reaction to that statement. She shrugged microscopically to him. That seemed in line with what she had observed before she left. By the time the petty bureaucrats stopped squabbling and agreed on how to react to a Vagaari attack, it would have been far too late to be of any use to the Pashvi. Even if they had managed to come to a quick consensus, it would only be because they felt that the Republic and the Senate stood to gain from it.

"Keep searching," Chiara told the Corellians. "Let me know if you find anything else from Republic space."

Nearly an hour into their search, Chiara's comlink twittered from her belt.

"Jedi," Lieutenant Kres'nari'atn's voice came. "One of my pilots has fallen ill. I request that you take his place in the afternoon patrols."

"I'll be right there," she told him, feeling relieved. Some time alone in space with only her wingmate and the stars for company was just what she needed. She clipped the curved device back to her belt and turned towards Thrawn. He had already set down the small sculpt he was examining and was watching her. "Snaria needs me to help with the patrols, one of the pilots is sick," she told him, crossing to where he stood. "I'll see you tonight."

"Be careful," Thrawn murmured, catching her hand and pressing it to his lips.

Chiara flashed him a cocky grin, grateful that he didn't seem disturbed by her earlier testiness. "Aren't I always?"

Thrawn shook his head ruefully as she headed for the door, deliberately putting a little extra motion in her hips as she felt his eyes following her. By the time she made it back to the airlocks, a second transport was docked and waiting to take her back to the base. It felt good to slip into her fitted pilot's uniform back on the base and climb into her favorite clawcraft. As usual, she ignored the boarding ladder entirely, using the Force to boost her leap up and onto the heavy fighter's thick hull. She dropped lightly into the pilot's seat, flicking on the power and starting the preflight check. The engines roared to life as she pulled her helmet on and ran an eye over the controls as they warmed up.

"Jedi," a familiar voice sounded in her ear. "It is an honor to fly with you."

"Hello Sev'asth'raki," Chiara greeted the other woman, flipping a row of switches on her control board. "The honor is mine. Would you like to fly point, today?"

"I accept the honor of leading, Jedi," Sev'asth'raki answered formally. "All systems report ready."

"All systems nominal and ready to go," Chiara told her, giving her own systems a quick check. She eased the control stick back gently, raising her fighter to hover above the landing pad. Sev'asth'raki kicked her clawcraft up into the air and shot forward towards the lights marking the exit tunnel. Chiara fed power to her engines, the base's gravity pressing her back into her seat as the fighter leapt forward like a scalded mynock. She felt a thrill as she watched the rocky walls of the tunnel shooting by at what most would find an alarming speed. She had flown the route so many times that she could practically do it with her eyes closed. The blaze of Sev'asth'raki'a engines was bright in the dim light provided by the lights that lined the tunnel.

Abruptly, they burst out of the tunnel and into open space. Sev'asth'raki threw her fighter into a tight loop, the closest thing to exuberance the woman would show so close to the base. Determined to fill her role as wingman to the best of her abilities, Chiara stretched out to the Force and let it guide her hands to match the other fighter's movements. She was well satisfied to see how closely she was able to mirror her wingmate's moves. They pulled out of the roll and shot towards the distant edge of the system, both reveling in the feeling of freedom that they found in open space.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Sorry for the long gap between updates, guys. I won't bore you with the details of my personal life, but there's been a lot going on and I just couldn't even pick up a pen to write anything, for a while. Things are slowly improving and I'm glad to be getting back to writing again, though. Thank you to those who followed/reviewed/favorited while I've been away. I normally try to thank you all individually, but I honestly have lost track in all the mayhem that has been going on. Sorry! I still appreciate your feedback greatly.

* * *

**Chapter 4  
**

Chiara and Sev'asth'raki spent six uneventful hours on patrol duty. Some pilots found patrol duty to be boring, she knew, but she loved the quiet peace of deep space and sensation of being among the stars. The only thing she enjoyed more than flying among the stars was lying on the beach in Thrawn's arms, looking up that the dancing lights that dotted the night sky of Crustai. If he could be here with me in this fighter, I think that would make this perfect, she reflected as they wove between the numerous asteroids that surrounded the base on their way back.

Once back inside the force field, Chiara settled the fighter back into place in the line of clawcraft, taking care to match the angle of the other fighters exactly. Precision flying was a hallmark of the Chiss pilots and they never missed the chance to point out the slightest slip. She knew they meant no disrespect by it, though, and enjoyed the challenges their high expectations presented her. In fact, she was honored by the fact that they held her to the same expectations to which they held themselves, knowing that it was an indication of their acceptance of her; they never expected races or people they considered inferior to meet the exacting demands of Chiss people.

She leaped down from the fighter without waiting for the techs to bring the ladder up to the fighter. They watched her with amused smiles, knowing she seldom waited for them and always marveling at the fact that she could leap so far and walk off as if nothing had happened. The transport had returned from the Vagaari ship, she noted, and was nestled back in its normal place just inside the hangar bay doors. Considering the time, it was likely that she would find Thrawn back in their quarters or in the hangar viewing room with the humans. Given the fact that he didn't meet her as she stepped back into the base proper, she decided he was probably in their quarters and turned that way.

She found sitting in their living quarters with the lights dimmed, staring intently at a sculpture that seemed to writhe before her eyes, flicking this way and that and changing colors as it did so. She stopped just inside the door, studying Thrawn's face as he analyzed the artwork, seemingly oblivious to her presence. His strong profile was illuminated by the faint glow emitted by the sculpture, the shifting colors casting an odd hue on his blue skin.

She waited patiently for him to acknowledge her presence for a few moments, but he remained engrossed in his study. When she opened her mouth to speak, he held up a hand to silence her, his glowing eyes never moving from the morphing sculpture. _I guess he does know I'm here,_ she thought, a bit surprised he had noticed her when he was so intent. _But, then, I really shouldn't be surprised; he always seems to be aware of what's going on around him._

She waited quietly for another few minutes before he finally turned to face her. "Chiara," he greeted her warmly. "Thank you for your patience. I trust you had an uneventful patrol?"

Chiara shrugged as she moved to join him, sinking down beside him on the couch and slipping one arm around him. "Uneventful enough." She nodded towards the sculpture. "Did you find anything of interest while examining the treasure?"

"The humans were able to identify artwork from an additional four worlds from your Republic and the surrounding area. In total, the artwork of no fewer than fifteen worlds is represented in the plunder," Thrawn told her gravely. "I suspect we will find the technologies of countless more as we complete our inventory of other treasures. If the Vagaari have indeed preyed on so many worlds, who knows what technology they may have picked up along the way? They could be a dangerous threat by the time they reach the Ascendancy and make a move against us, yet military doctrine would have us stand by and watch as they destroy countless worlds and millions of lives and become even stronger. It is folly."

Chiara ran her fingers soothingly through his short, glossy hair, picking up on the subtle and familiar note of frustration in his voice. He saw Chiss military doctrine as something that frequently held him back from protecting his people and she knew that he feared this ideal would ultimately bring about the destruction of his people. "I know. You will find a way around the rules of engagement, though, you always do," she told him confidently, her fingertips sliding down the back of his neck to work at the knots of tension in his muscular shoulders. She nodded towards the sculpture convulsing before them as she worked, watching as the shifting colors stained her tunic with fluctuatings patterns of colors and light. "Now, what is this, our newest decoration? I didn't think High Command would let you keep any of the art."

"No, I will have to return it before the ship is sent to Csilla," he told her, a look of regret crossing his face even as he relaxed beneath her practiced touch. "I wished to study it in more depth, though, so I brought it here. I can have it for a few weeks, at least."

"It's lovely," Chiara murmured, watching the colors morph from blue to green to red and then to a vivid purple. Each change of color started at the center of the sculpture and moved outward in brilliant waves, washing dazzling hues across the shifting surface. "Do you know where it is from?"

Thrawn shook his head, his eyes never leaving the sculpture. "No. I have never seen anything like it before. The stark differences in psyche that I see in this piece are puzzling. I cannot reconcile the physical differences I see reflected in this work, either."

"Like what?" she asked, leaning forward to study the sculpt, trying to see what it was that he saw.

"The being that created this clearly saw far into the ultraviolet spectrum, yet just as obviously had limited perception of intensity of light. That is a combination I have never yet seen. In addition to this, the creator seems to have an extra set of arms, yet only three fingers on each hand, which is also quite unusual. The disparities of the emotional states that are evident are also quite fascinating; I do not believe I have ever met a single species capable of feeling such variety and intensity of emotions. Normally, those who exhibit such intense emotions are very limited in the range of what they can feel or express; this work shows none of that restriction," Thrawn explained.

"Interesting," Chiara murmured. "Could it be that this was created by two different species working together?"

"I doubt it. There is a total lack of strife present in this work and such conflict is nearly always present to some degree or other when two differing species work together on such a project," he told her. "No matter how similar two species may seem, they never see entirely eye-to-eye."

Chiara arched one eyebrow at him. "As you and I have approved many times over."

Thrawn chuckled in wry amusement. "That we certainly have," he agreed.

* * *

Chiara woke with a start, carefully disentangling herself from Thrawn's arms before she sat up, not wanting to disturb his sleep. She couldn't tell if the dream she'd had was a nightmare or a vision from the Force. She so rarely had visions that it was often hard for her to tell the difference between the two. In this instance, it was only a fleeting glimpse, but one that filled her with foreboding; she'd seen a Dark Jedi using the Force the strangle Thrawn as he sat in his command chair aboard the _Springhawk_. She hadn't been able to see the Dark Jedi in the dream or vision and had been helpless to do anything to save Thrawn as he slowly had the life choked out of him.

She glanced down to where he lay sleeping, oblivious to her distress. She traced a finger across his throat as if brushing away the lingering cobwebs of the dream and the invisible hand that had closed around it. _It must have been a dream_, she told herself. _There haven't been any Dark Jedi in a long time. And, even if there were, what would they be doing all the way out here in the Unknown Regions? _Still, she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that lingered.

Glancing at the chrono, Chiara decided that trying to go back to sleep wasn't worth it; they would be getting up in two hours and she doubted she would be able to shake the image of Thrawn being slowly strangled to death long enough to fall asleep, anyway. Instead, she pressed her lips to his forehead and slid out of bed as quietly as she could. Thrawn stirred slightly as she retrieved her lightsaber and a set of clothes, but he quickly settled back into a deeper sleep. Chiara slipped into the fresher to dress and tame her long tresses back into a braid that fell nearly to her waist. She pulled her soft, tall boots on and padded silently to through their bedroom to rummage through her drawer for the remote she had constructed shortly after their escapade on the surface of Csilla in the midst of a blizzard. It had taken quite a lot of tinkering to get the device right, but she had eventually come up with a design that worked fairly well for lightsaber training. With one last glance at Thrawn's slumbering form, she slipped out into the corridor and headed for the exercise and training area.

She encountered only a handlful of warriors as she made her way through the base due to the hour, but she knew and greeted each one of them by name. When she reached the training room, she wasn't surprised to find it deserted; it was still several hours before the next group of warriors would begin their shifts and most were probably still sleeping. Enjoying the solitude that was often such a rare and coveted luxury on a base, Chiara flicked on the remote and watched as it zipped around her, waiting for her signal to attack. She let her eyes drift closed and relaxed into the Force, letting it fill her and flow through her body. She felt the familiar weight of her lightsaber in her hand, intensely aware of where the engravings on the hilt pressed into her palm. She could see the brilliant, silvery blade in her mind's eye as she ignited the weapon with a familiar _snap-hiss_. A tingle of warning from the Force warned her as the remote swept in, spitting tiny, low-powered laser bolts at her. She leapt into action, her movements guided by the Force as her lightsaber whirled and spun through the air to deflect the stinging bolts. Following it's programming, the remote gradually stepped up the intensity of its attacks, going from a dozen bolts per minute to a steady barrage of tiny green darts. Chiara moved with a dancer's ease, her lightsater weaving a defensive net about her to keep the laserbolts at bay.

Chiara's muscles were beginning to ache and her breath was getting short when Thrawn appeared nearly an hour later. Grateful for the distraction, she shut down her lightsaber and switched the remote into standby.

"I thought I might find you here," Thrawn said as he halted a few paces away, his eyes taking in the sweat that drenched her bodysuit and the droplets which clung to her brow. "Why are you up so early?"

"I had a bad dream and knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep," she told him simply.

One blue-black eyebrow shot up. "A dream? Or a vision?"

She shook her head. "I'm fairly certain it was nothing more than a dream. The setting and the people in it - it couldn't possibly be real."

"If it disturbed you enough that you couldn't go back to sleep, you should have woken me," he chided her gently, closing the remaining distance between them and brushing backa sweat-soaked lock of hair that had escaped from the braid.

"You need your sleep. Besides, I needed a little space and some exercise to clear my head," she said, plucking the remote out of the air and shutting it down.

Thrawn didn't comment any further, but she could feel his appreciate on her as she deposited her lightsaber and remote on one of the benches against the wall. "Would you like a little more exercise?" He asked as she moved to join him again, inclining his head towards one of the sparring mats.

"Would you like me to beat you mercilessly?" Chiara quipped with a grin, her fatigue and aching muscles quickly forgotten.

"When do you ever do anything else?" Thrawn asked sardonically.

"Maybe one of these days you will beat me," Chiara told him, her sapphire eyes dancing with mischief. "Of course, that will probably be about the same time that Csilla turns into a tropical oasis."

Thrawn shot her a mock glare as they stepped over to the mat and assumed defensive stances. "We shall see about that."

They sparred for nearly an hour, their mock battle raging back and forth as Thrawn sought to find a way around Chiara's Jedi reflexes. Over the years, he had learned her typical defensive moves, but he had yet to find a way to use that knowledge effectively against her; every time he tried, her Jedi reflexes were enough to keep her out of his reach. He enjoyed the challenge though and constantly sought to find new moves and innovative ways of trying to defeat her. Every now and then, he did manage to surprise her and pin her for a moment, but she always escaped from his grasp. When she dropped him to the mat for the fifth time on this occasion, he finally admitted defeat for the day.

"Enough," he gasped, trying to slide out from under her weight as she held him pinned to the mat. "I do still need to walk to perform my duties, today. How is it that you are light enough for me to carry, yet you can still hold me down?"

Chiara grinned down at him, keeping a tight grip on his wrists and settling herself a bit more firmly onto his chest to keep him in place. "It's all in how you use it," she told him, leaning forward and kissing his nose. He struggled against her grip, his glowing eyes glittering with desire as he tried unsuccessfully to follow her motion and reach her lips.

"You are a nuisance," he growled in frustration, still trying to free his wrists from her restraining hands. Chiara loosened her grip just enough to allow him to break free; he took advantage of his newly reclaimed freedom to give himself the leverage to flip her onto her back, pinning her beneath him. He kissed her passionately, his weight pressing her into the mat. The door slid open at that inopportune moment to admit one of the warriors who had arrived early for the morning training session, forcing Thrawn to break away from her. Chiara heard him mutter something under his breath about timing as he got to his feet and offered her his hand.

Chiara deliberately lost her balance as she stood and caught herself against his chest, laughing a bit as his hands automatically went to her waist to steady her. "I heard the base is running a bit low on water," she whispered in his ear, a smile tugging at one corner of her mouth. Their quarters was the only one on base that had the luxury of a shower that could use water, as opposed to the sonic showers that used by the rest of the base's inhabitants. It was a perk of Thrawn's command that Chiara thoroughly enjoyed. "Perhaps we should shower together for conservation purposes."

They weren't really low on water and Thrawn knew it. Even if they were, there was a more than adequate supply on the planet and having their store replenished was a relatively easy task. "Indeed, I would say it is our duty," Thrawn said, keeping a straight face as he shifted his grip to her elbow and steered her towards the door.

* * *

"Thrawn," Chiara said as she pulled a tunic and a pair of the fitted pants she favored from the drawer. A drop of water slid down her back, dribbling from the still-damp hair that hung down her back. "Could we go down to Crustai again, at some point soon? I'd love to spend a day or two hiking through the mountains."

Thrawn stepped up behind her, his arms reaching around her as he opened his own drawer and retrieved his rank insignias from their resting place in the corner. "Soon," he promised, his lips caressing her bare shoulder. "We can hardly leave while our guests are here, though. It will have to wait until they return to the Republic."

She leaned back against his chest. "You're right," she sighed, closing her eyes as he folded her in his arms, holding her close. "I don't think they're the type that would enjoy going with us, either. At least, not Qennto and Ferasi. Car'das might enjoy it."

"Indeed. And taking them with us would hardly serve the purpose of giving us time alone," Thrawn pointed out.

"There is that, too," she agreed. "I suppose we had better get going before the Aristocra decides to come over from his ship and starts looking for you." She plucked the rank insignias from his fingers and turned to face him. He studied her face as she pinned them to his collar, carefully checking to be sure they were even.

"You are so beautiful," he murmured, brushing his fingers against her cheek as she finished. She blushed and glanced down. Thrawn sighed and shifted his hand to grip her chin gently, bringing her gaze back up to his. "I wish you wouldn't do that. I'm trying to compliment you and you act as if you are ashamed."

"I'm sorry," she told him, fighting the urge to look down again. "I know you mean it as a compliment; it's just that almost four hundred years of being a Jedi and not being able to accept such overtures forms habits that are hard to undo. I still find myself slipping back into that mindset, occasionally," she confessed.

"I know, _Elor'endil_, and that is why I point it out; unless I bring it to your attention, you will never unlearn those reactions," Thrawn told her gently, releasing her chin and letting his hand drift to her shoulder. He kissed her forehead and stepped away. "Now, get dressed so we can head to the mess hall, please."

* * *

They were sitting together in the mess hall discussing the schedule for the day when the door slid open to admit two yellow-clad warriors.

"Uhoh," Chiara murmured, suppressing a grimace as the Aristocra stepped through, surveying the occupants of the room with a haughty look.

Thrawn cocked one blue-black eyebrow at her. "What?"

"We have a visitor," she told him, inclining her head slightly towards where the Aristocra was standing. She didn't need to tell him who it was. "He's headed this way," she warned as the Aristocra caught sight of them and started towards them. "Good morning, Aristocra," she greeting the regal Chiss in nearly perfect Cheunh as he came to a halt near their table. At least the sounds of those particular words weren't quite so difficult to get out correctly.

Thrawn nodded gravely to the Aristocra. "What can I do for you, Aristocra?"

"I need to be taken to the planet," the Aristocra informed him curtly, ignoring Chiara's greeting. "You will assign one of your shuttles and a pilot to me for the day."

"As you command, Aristocra," Thrawn said mildly, his face and voice betraying none of the annoyance that Chiara could sense from him. "When would you like to leave?"

"Immediately," the Aristocra bit out, throwing Chiara a contemptuous glance.

Chiara held out a hand to stop Thrawn from getting up. "I'll make the arrangements," she told him. She could finish her breakfast later; he wouldn't have that luxury once he started his duties in another twenty minutes. "I wouldn't want you to miss the transmission you have scheduled with High Command."

"Yes, that would helpful," Thrawn said smoothly, suppressing his smile; he had no such transmission scheduled and they both knew it. If the Aristocra found out, he would certainly be irate; that just meant she would have to keep him busy enough that he wouldn't notice.

"Will twenty minutes be soon enough, Aristocra?" Chiara asked smoothly, getting to her feet.

The Chiss glared at her for a moment, clearly thrown off balance by this sudden change in his plans - clearly, he had been intending to disrupt Thrawn's schedule. His petty attitude irked Chiara, but she stretched out to the Force for calm. There is no passion, there is serenity, she reminded herself.

"Make it fifteen," he finally said before turning on a booted heel and striding back out the door. His bodyguards turned in perfect unison and followed him out.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Thrawn asked her, one eyebrow raised.

Chiara flashed him a smile. "Of course. We both know the Aristocra is going to arrive five minutes early to try and catch me off guard. It will be a race to see who can be ready first. I had better get going if I'm going to win."

Thrawn shook his head at her. "Always the reckless one. You should have let me do this. Still, I thank you. Go on, I will clear your dishes," he told her, brushing his fingers over hers.

"Wish me luck," she told him, squeezing his hand gently. She gave him her most reckless smile and got to her feet, reaching for her comlink as she headed off.

"Reckless," Thrawn called after her softly, still shaking his head in spite of the smile tugging at his lips.

* * *

Thrawn was waiting for her when she got back to their quarters that evening.

"Are you alright?" He asked, looking up from his study of the sculpture as soon as the door opened. "Mitth'is'arla told me that the Aristocra insisted you be his pilot."

Chiara dropped onto the couch next to him and heaved a sigh of frustration and weariness. "It was miserable," she told him bluntly, curling up in his waiting arms and resting her head against his shoulder. "I think he did it just so he could torture me all day and I would have no way to get away from him. I have never had my patience as sorely tested as I did today, and that is saying a lot. What did I ever do to make him hate me so much?"

Thraw's arms tightened around her comfortingly. "Try not to take it personally. He really doesn't like outsiders."

"How long do I have to be here before he stops considering me an outsider? What else do I have to do?" Chiara asked in frustration. "I've given everything to the Chiss and still he treats me like dirt. He spent the entire day sniping at my piloting skills and pronunciation or trying to goad me into admitting that I'm behind the strikes you have made."

"If only that surprised me," Thrawn said, shaking his head. "Perhaps it would be wise for you to stay out of his path when he is on the base."

"That's what I've been doing for the most part, but it was clear that he was intent on making you miserable today and I was trying to run interference. I figured I could just get him off onto the shuttle and we would be rid of him for the day. I didn't expect it to backfire on me so badly," she told him.

"I appreciate your intentions, Chiara, but perhaps you should let me handle the Aristocra in the future," Thrawn suggested. "I am perfectly capable of handling him and there is a great deal he cannot say to me without breaking the rules of propriety. Few such rules exist for interactions with non-Chiss, though."

"Everyone else seems to accept me and apply the rules of interaction to me. He could at least grant me that much respect, even if he doesn't like me," Chiara grumbled.

Thrawn kissed her cheek. "You are too capable of a warrior," he told. "I suspect the Aristocra feels that your presence is a threat; if you ever decided to move against the Ascendancy and recruited other Jedi to help you, you could raze many of our bases and colonies to the ground before we could put a stop to it. You know too much of our policies and defenses."

"And what is my alternative? To sit back on Csilla and let you and your warriors go into danger without me, knowing some of them won't come back alive if I'm not there to defend them, just so your politicians don't feel threatened by me?" Chiara demanded.

Thrawn raised his hands in defense. "I'm not suggesting that you should do so, _Elor'endil, _I'm merely pointing out what it is that the Aristocra likely sees and why he behaves as he does. It is not an excuse for his treatment of you, but perhaps it explains the motives behind it."

She snorted. "If he is afraid that I might destroy the Ascendancy, one would think he would be trying not to make me angry."

"Unless he thinks he can drive you away from the Chiss entirely," Thrawn pointed out. "Misguided as he is, he is simply doing what he believes is in the best interest of our people."

"You can't keep out the rest of the galaxy forever, Thrawn. The Chiss are going to have to learn to accept outsiders, at some point. The sooner you accept that, the better off you will be."

"I agree. Unfortunately, I cannot see how to sway the rest of the Ascendancy on this when I cannot even convince them of the necessity of addressing the threats that are pressing in around our borders," he said.

"You will find a way," she told him. "The Chiss may be a proud and stubborn species, but you're more stubborn than any of the rest of them."

That earned her two raised eyebrows. "Am I, now?"

"Yes, you are. And don't look offended, you're stubborn in a good way," she told him, seeing the expression on his face. "If it weren't for your refusal to allow standard Chiss practices to dictate your actions, you would never offered me your protection. If you weren't so stubborn, you would just give in to their insistence that pre-emptive strikes are immoral, despite your own beliefs. Your stubbornness is part of what makes you strong and makes you willing to follow your own conscience, despite the consequences."

Thrawn seemed to consider this for a moment. "I concede your point. In many ways, choosing you liberated me from the constraints of our military doctrine; if I was still seeking to attain a position in High Command, I am not certain that I would risk the strikes we have made in defense of our the Ascendancy."

"There, see? I'm reckless and you're stubborn," Chiara said, adopting a lighter tone and feeling some of her bad mood lift from her shoulders.

"Indeed," Thrawn said drily. "Although you certainly have your own stubborn streak, as well. Now, it is time for the language lesson. If you wish to stay here, in light of your day, I will make your excuses to our guests."

Chiara shook her head. "No, I'll come. It would be good for me to get out of here and associate with people who actually treat me with respect." She didn't add that she wasn't about to leave him with Ferasi if she could avoid it. Even though Thrawn had been subtly trying to dissuade any interest Ferasi might have taken in him, Chiara still preferred to be present when the two of them were together, not for lack of trust in Thrawn, but so that she could monitor the Corellian woman's reactions to him.

She supected that Thrawn saw and understood much of this as he studied her face. "As you wish," he said simply, getting to his feet and leading her towards the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

It came as a relief when the Aristocra only stayed at the base for three days. Chiara studiously avoided him for the remainder of his stay, spending most of her time with the Corellians and catching up on news on the Republic, instead. Despite the fact that she had left the Order and the Republic behind, it still grieved her to hear about the continued deterioration that was occurring. Of course, none of the humans could tell her much about the workings of the Jedi Order, but she deduced from what they did know that the Council was allowing itself to become more and more pulled into the political arena. It came as no surprise to her that Palpatine had been reelected as Chancellor and that he was continuing to draw the Jedi Council in, putting them under his own control.

One afternoon about a week into the humans' stay, Thrawn found her sitting alone in the hangar bay viewing room, staring out at the ships and maintenance crews that moved through the cavern.

"Did you finish going over the shipment manifest already?" Thrawn asked, sitting down beside her.

She nodded absently. "Everything was in order. Prard'saki'tal mentioned the _nahn'bar_ is growing quite well, this year. He expects we will receive some in the next shipment, if things continue as they are now."

"Excellent," Thrawn said, studying her face in the dim light. "You seem disquieted," he observed.

"I am," she admitted. "Car'das and Ferasi were telling me about some of the developments in the Republic since I left and things have only continued to go downhill. The Trade Federation is getting more and more out of hand and the Senate is growing more corrupt than ever. Things just keep getting worse," she said sadly. "Even though I left all of that behind when I chose to stay here with you, it still grieves me to hear that the Republic is continuing to degrade. The Jedi Council is allowing itself to be increasingly bogged down with politics and at the beck and call of the Supreme Chancellor. This isn't what the Jedi are supposed to be; we are supposed to be servants of the people and, through them the Force. Not the Senate, not the Chancellor, the people. I know this is part of why I left the Order, but it still saddens me to see them falling farther and farther away from our true purpose."

"Understandably so," Thrawn told her, taking her hand. "You've dedicated the majority of your life to the Jedi Order and to serving the people of the Republic. It is a part of your life that you cannot walk away from and choosing to serve to the Chiss does not lessen the impact and importance of your prior commitment to the Republic. I can only hope it doesn't make it too difficult for you to stay here, rather than returning to try to help correct the errant tendencies of the Order."

Chiara looked down at their interwoven fingers, taking in the contrast of their skin tones, pale white against blue. When she met his fiery gaze again, there was a determined set to her mouth. "No, it doesn't," she assured him. "I spent nearly a century trying to redirect the Jedi Order and the Council to no avail. Why would it be any different now? I cannot save the Order from its own folly. What I can do is serve the Force on my own by serving the Chiss."

"I am glad that can separate yourself enough from the Order to be content serving the Force here. I know it took you a great deal of time to come to the point where you could walk away from the Order, rather than continuing to try to fix it. I am grateful that your path lead you here," Thrawn told her, stroking her cheek with his free hand.

"As am I," she told him, gazing into his glowing red eyes.

They sat together in companionable silence for a few moments. "I have a proposal," Thrawn told her, winding a strand of her hair around his finger. "We have not had a quiet evening since we returned to the base. Why don't we leave our guests to their own devices and spend tonight together?"

Chiara felt her mood brighten noticeably. "That would be wonderful! Is that permitted by rules of hospitality, though?"

Thrawn shrugged. "For one evening, I do not believe it would be objectionable."

"Then I would love to. Did you have anything specific in mind?" Chiara asked.

"My thought was to leave that largely to you," he told her. "What would you like to do?"

She considered for a moment. "Why don't we start with a game of ch'etecisci? I'm getting closer to being able to beat you; perhaps today will be my lucky day."

"I doubt it," Thrawn told her with a smirk. "But you can certainly try."

* * *

The weeks flew by and they fell into a comfortable rhythm of completing Thrawn's administrative and command tasks during the day, then spending an hour or so in language lessons in the evening. Thrawn made a point of insuring that he spent some time with Chiara each evening, as well, which she greatly appreciated. Given how busy his schedule was and how much work was involved in running a base, even with her help, she knew this took a great deal of conscious effort on his part.

A few weeks into the smuggler's stay, Thrawn and Chiara sat together on the couch with one human sitting on either side. "What is your profession?" Thrawn asked Car'das in Cheunh.

"I am a fishing boat," the young man replied, clearly struggling to get the sounds out.

Chiara bit back a chuckle at the mistake as Thrawn lifted his eyebrows at Car'das; it was a mistake she had often made early in her time in Chiss space. Fissix had teased her so relentlessly about her pronunciation that she had spent three days straight working on differentiating between the sounds of the aspirated and un-aspirated consonants that were so common in Cheunh, yet so hard to pronounce. She still couldn't get them out correctly, but at least there was some difference between them now.

"You are a fishing boat?" Thrawn asked Car'das, changing to an almost flawless Basic.

Car'das looked at Chiara, as if for confirmation. "You did indeed say that you are a fishing boat," she told him. "It is such a subtle difference that it's an easy mistake to make. I've done the same thing more times than I would like to admit."

The young man gave a gesture that was probably meant to indicate frustration. "I am a merchant trader," he said in Minnisiat.

"Ah," Thrawn answered in the same language. "You're a merchant trader?"

"Yes. I really said I was a fishing boat?" Car'das questioned, a rueful expression on his face.

"Pohskapforian; Pohskapforian," Thrawn said, demonstrating the difference between the two words and the aspirated consonant that differentiated them. "Can you hear the difference?"

Car'das nodded. "I practiced that all evening, too."

"If it makes you feel any better, I had to answer everyone in Minnisiat for about six months," Chiara told him. "Well, everyone but Thrawn. I was surrounded by Cheunh constantly and I developed a good ear for it, but it took me a very long time to learn to approximate some of the sounds. I still don't do a terribly good job of a lot of the pronunciation."

"And I did warn you that Cheunh would most likely be beyond your physical capabilities," Thrawn reminded him. "Still, your increase in comprehension level has been quite amazing, especially after only five weeks. And your progress with Minnisiat over the same period has been nothing less than remarkable. I'm impressed." His gaze shifted to Ferasi. "With both of you."

Chiara glanced sharply at the other woman, who blushed at Thrawn's compliment. A wave of jealousy flooded over her as she watched Ferasi's reaction and sensed her pleasure at Thrawn's words. Despite his efforts at putting the slightest hint of coolness into his interactions with Ferasi and allowing Chiara to handle most of her tutoring, the Corellian had clearly retained her admiration for Thrawn. Much to Chiara's annoyance and Thrawn's chagrin, her esteem had only deepened as she had more exposure to Thrawn's brilliant intellect and high moral character. It was becoming a severe test of her patience and control to maintain a civil demeanor towards the Corellian.

"Thank you, Commander," Car'das said, drawing Chiara's attention away from Ferasi. "To have impressed you is high praise indeed."

"Now you flatter me," Thrawn warned the smuggler, a ghost of a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. He turned to look at Chiara in askance. "Is that the correct word? Flatter?"

"The word is correct, but I would argue the usage," Car'das answered for her. "Flattery implies exaggeration or even falsehood. My statement was the truth."

Thrawn inclined his head. "Then I accept the tribute as given." He turned to Ferasi, who had taken up a seat on the opposite side of him as Chiara. "And now, Ferasi, I'm ready with your special request."

"Special request?" Car'das asked, a frown creasing his forehead.

"Ferasi asked me to create a description of one of the artworks aboard the Vagaari pirate vessel," Thrawn told him.

"Oh?" The junior crewer asked, looking at Ferasi.

"I wanted some extra practice with abstract terms and adjectives," Ferasi said, a hint of frost in her tone.

"Okay, sure," the young man said hastily. "I was just wondering."

Chiara's eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them. Clearly Car'das was beginning to pick up on Ferasi's attraction to Thrawn, or at least to suspect. Chiara felt slightly vindicated in her own reactions towards the other woman, knowing that she wasn't the only one who held the opinion that Ferasi harbored feelings for Thrawn that were less than appropriate. She struggled to rein in her growing resentment of the other woman and jealousy at the attention that Thrawn was showing her. _He's just being polite,_ she reminded herself. She knew he had been deliberately avoiding spending any time alone with the human woman to avoid encouraging her. She must have gone out of her way to track him down to make whatever request this was. Stretching out to the Force for calm and running through her Jedi relaxation techniques, she settled in to listen to Thrawn's description of whichever piece of art he had selected, focusing on him.

"May I ask which piece you've chosen?" Ferasi asked.

"Certainly not," he admonished her, raising one eyebrow. "You'll have to deduce that from my description."

"Oh," Ferasi said, seeing a bit disconcerted. She glanced at Car'das and set her jaw. "All right. I'm ready."

Thrawn's glowing eyes defocused as he gazed across the room, staring out into the hangar bay without really seeing the activity of the maintenance crews prepping the clawcraft for their next patrol. "The changing of colors is like a rainbow's edge melding into a sunlit waterfall..."

Chiara felt a jolt of unpleasant realization from Car'das, distracting her from Thrawn's description. The young man was staring intently at Ferasi, a distinctly uncomfortable look on his face. She followed his gaze to Ferasi's face, watching as the other woman's eyes lingered on Thrawn's handsome face, her lips occasionally moving as she worked through some of the more complex compound words. Chiara felt a surge of anger as she took in Ferasi's expression; it wasn't the sort of look that a student should be giving her teacher and definitely not one that any woman should be giving a man who was already in a committed relationship.

"...with a deep sense of disconnection and strife between the artist and his people," Thrawn finished.

"Beautiful," Ferasi murmured, her gaze still lingering adoringly on Thrawn's sculpted features. "That was the flat with the carved edging, wasn't it? The landscape with the darkness growing upward from the lower corner?"

"Correct," Thrawn confirmed, looking to Car'das. "Were you also able to identify it?"

"I- no," the young man admitted, looking embarassed. "I was mostly concentrating on understanding the words."

"One can concentrate so closely on the words of a sentence that one thereby misses the meaning, as can happen in any area of life. You must never lose focus on the larger landscape," he admonished the younger man. Thrawn glanced at Chiara as he said this, his expression and sense clearly communicating to her that he had caught on to her reaction, as well as Ferasi's attention. He gave her an apologetic look before his gaze drifted upward to a series of lights over the door that indicated the Admiral's ship had begun negotiating the launch tunnel into the base. He got to his feet and made a point of offering his hand to Chiara to help her up, as well, turning his back to the Corellian woman. "Today's lesson is over," he informed Car'das. "I must see to my guest."

"Guest?" Ferasi asked, matching Thrawn's movement.

"An admiral of the Chiss Defense Fleet is on her way to take possession of the Vagaari vessel," Thrawn told her evenly as he started for the door.

Chiara was only a step behind him. "It is nothing you need to concern yourselves with," she informed Ferasi, the words coming out a bit more sharply than she had intended. The Corellian started as if she had forgotten Chiara's presence while she fawned over Thrawn. She stared at Chiara, a decidedly uncomfortable expression on her face. _So you know that your feelings for him aren't appropriate,_ Chiara thought as the other woman flushed. _At least you have the good grace to be embarrassed that you were swooning over him in front of me._

"May we observe the welcoming ceremony?" Car'das asked, clearly missing the tension. "This time we should be able to understand what's being said."

Thrawn didn't miss any of it. He glanced at Chiara, searching her face for a clue as to her preference. She could feel his concern through the Force as she tore her gaze away from the smuggler woman and met his glowing eyes. She could sense his discomfort at the situation and at seeing for the first time just how far Ferasi's admiration had gone. Her gaze flicked back to Ferasi. This infatuation of hers is entirely one-sided, she reminded herself, redirecting her gaze back to Thrawn and giving him a fractional shrug.

Thrawn studied her for another pair of heartbeats before turning back to Car'das. "I believe that will be permissible," he told the Corellian, leading the way out into the corridors. "Admiral Ar'alani will certainly have heard of your presence from Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano and will want to see you for herself."

"Are they both from the same family?" Ferasi asked.

"Senior officers of the Defense Fleet belong to no family," Chiara informed her, striving to keep any frost from her tone as she addressed the woman. "They are stripped of family rank and privilege and made part of the Defense Hierarchy in order that they may serve all Chiss without deference or prejudice."

"So military rank is merit-based, and not something that comes from Family connections?" Ferasi asked.

"Exactly," Thrawn confirmed. "Officers are taken into the Hierarchy once they've proven themselves, just as the Ruling Families themselves select merit adoptives."

"What are merit adoptives?" Car'das asked.

"Merit adoptives are Chiss brought in from outside a Family's bloodlines to enhance or diversify or vitalize," Chiara explained. "Every warrior is made a merit adoptive when they're accepted into either the Defense Fleet or the Expansionary Fleet."

"That's why every warrior wears the color of one of the Families," Thrawn added, tapping the burgundy patch on his shoulder.

"Which one is yours?" Maris asked, again with that all-too interested look on her face.

"The Eighth," Thrawn told her. "My position is actually different from that of most warriors, as I've been named a Trial-born of the family. Most warriors' positions automatically cease when they leave the military, but mine carries the possibility that I will be deemed worthy and matched permanently to the family. I may even be granted the position of ranking distant, which will tie my descendants and bloodline into that of the Family."

Not that they were ever likely to have descendants, unless they adopted. Chiara doubted they would ever even do that, as neither were willing for her to leave the base to raise a family. And that he would be permanently matched to the Eighth family was still a matter of doubt. Aristocra Mitth'osks'anik was decidedly on their side in this matter, but the rest of the Familly seemed to be split fairly evenly.

"Sounds complicated," Car'das commented.

Chiara shrugged. "It's not as complicated as it sounds, and it is far better than the way things are done in the Republic, with titles always going straight to bloodlines or the highest bidder."

"Mm," he answered noncommittally. "And you said there are nine of these Ruling Families?"

"There are nine at present," Thrawn said. "The number fluctuates with events and political fortunes. At various times over the centuries there have been as many as twelve and as few as three."

Chiara ran her eye over the welcoming chamber as she stepped in, checking to be sure that everything was configured properly for someone of the Admiral's position. One of the first things she had done when they arrived on the base was spend time familiarizing herself with the welcoming ceremonies required for different officials. Her eyes flicked up to the banners and panels that dropped down from the ceiling, confirming that everything was in place. She nodded to her approval to the two warriors who stood flanking the doors. As always, they had performed their duties competently and thoroughly.

"The ceremony will be considerably shorter and less formal than the last one you witnessed," Thrawn told the humans as he gestured them into positions flanking him but two paces back. Chiara took up her place at his right hand, even though she technically had no standing and no right to that place. For most visitors, she would not have dared to presume to stand on equal ground with Thrawn, but she knew Ar'alani well enough and knew that the Admiral had accepted her as part of Thrawn's life and command. It had taken time for the Admiral to shift from her initial opposition to acceptance, but the risk she had taken with Thrawn to rescue Mitth'osk'sanik's mate and children from a blizzard had seemed to finally win her over.

"The Admiral's appearance may surprise you a bit, as well," Thrawn added, turning to Car'das. "I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts later."

He turned his attention to one of the warriors who stood flanking the door in an honor guard position and gave a small nod. The warrior keyed a switch and, with a melodious chiming to announce the admiral's presence, the door slid open. Four of the admiral's warriors stepped through in smart, military movements and took up flanking positions on either side of the door. In answer, Thrawn's warriors gave up their guard positions and moved to a covering position in each corner, their exactly timed movements an impressive display of coordination and cohesiveness. Thrawn took great pride in having such highly trained and competent warriors, a pride that those under his command picked up on and strove to fulfill to the best of their abilities. It was yet another subtle example of how Thrawn's command style cultivated a desire to perform above and beyond his exacting standards and brought about impressive results.

Admiral Ar'alani appeared in the door and strode into the room, coming to a halt at exactly the center. With her shoulder-length, blue-black hair pulled back into a tight braid, she looked just a severe as Chiara remembered from her initial meeting with the Admiral. Chiara knew from experience that the Admiral wasn't nearly as strict as she seemed, but she and Thrawn seldom saw eye-to-eye on things, which meant that this was likely to be a very interesting visit.

Thrawn took the proscribed step forward to meet the Admiral. "In the name of all who service the Chiss, I greet you, Admiral Ar'alani," he said formally.

"I accept your greeting, and greet you in return, Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo. Do you guarantee my safety, and the safety of my crew?" Even as she gave the required response, Chiara could see that the admiral's eyes were not on Thrawn, but rather on the two humans that stood behind them.

"I guarantee your safety with my life and the lives of those of my command," Thrawn said, bowing his head low. "Enter in peace, and with trust."

The Admiral returned Thrawn's bow. "Who are these who stand behind you?" she asked, her tone shifting as they left the rituals of welcome behind.

"Visitors from a distant world," Thrawn said, gesturing the humans forward. "Car'das and Ferasi, may I present Admiral Ar'alani."

"We are honored, Admiral," Car'das said in semi-passable Cheunh, trying to imitate Thrawn's bow.

The Admiral's eyebrows shot up. "Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano didn't tell me they spoke Cheunh."

"Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano spent didn't know. He spent little time here, and showed no more interest in learning about my guests than he has in Chiara," Thrawn told her, his tone polite but with a hint of annoyance coloring his sense as he recalled the Aristocra's conduct towards her.

Ar'alani's eyes flicked to Chiara, back to the Corellians. "Are these of your species, Jedi?"

"They are not," Chiara told her. "They are similar, but not the same."

The Admiral seemed to consider this for a moment, studying the differences in appearance between Chiara and the smugglers. "The report said there were three of them," she said after a moment.

"The third is otherwise occupied. I can summon him if you wish," Thrawn said.

Ar'alani lifted her eyebrows. "He is allowed to roam freely through an installation of the Chiss Expansionary Fleet?"

Thrawn shook his head. "All three are under constant surveillance."

"You are studying them, then?"

"Of course," Thrawn said mildly.

"And what have you learned that you didn't already know from your Jedi?" Ar'alani asked.

"A great deal," Thrawn assured her, glancing at Chiara. "But this is neither the time nor the place to discuss it."

Ar'alani's eyes flicked to Thrawn's warriors, still standing at perfect attention against the welcoming chamber walls. "Agreed."

"I presume you'll wish to tour the captured vessel before you take it in tow. I have a shuttle waiting," Thrawn told her.

"Good," the Admiral said, reaching to her belt and touching her comlink. "Let me summon my passenger, and we'll go."

The flicker of surprise that Chiara picked up from Thrawn matched her own; apparently, he hadn't known about this visitor, either. "No passengers were mentioned."

"His presence is not officially sanctioned by the Defense Fleet," Ar'alani said. "I brought him here as a favor to the Eighth Ruling Family."

Behind the Admiral, a familiar Chiss stepped into view, sending a fresh wave of astonishment rippling through Thrawn. "Thrass!" He breathed, breaking into a smile as he moved to meet his brother. Thrass gripped his arm in greeting, returning Thrawn's enthusiastic smile. "Welcome," Thrawn greeted the other. "This is a surprise indeed."

"An achievement I have rarely achieved," Thrass said, amusement creeping into his tone. His gaze shifted over Thrawn's shoulder and he moved to greet Chiara. "It is good to see you again, Chiara," he said, offering her his hand in greeting.

She gripped his arm in return and smiled warmly. "The pleasure is all mine, Thrass. Welcome to Crustai."

Whatever issues they'd had when they first met had dissipated quickly after they sat down and talked. Since then, he had accepted her fully into the family and put considerable effort into mending the rift he had opened with Thrawn over his initial reaction to his brother taking an outsider under his protection. They seldom saw him now, but that was mainly due to the many lightyears that lay between Crustai and Csilla.

Thrass's gaze shifted to the humans and Chiara could see lines of tension appear around his eyes. He may have accepted her, but he clearly hadn't quite gotten over the Chiss xenophobia yet.

"My guests," Thrawn said, obviously noting the shift and gesturing to the Corellians. "Car'das and Ferasi, Corellian traders from the Galactic Republic."

"The same Galactic Republic that you are from, I presume?" Thrass asked, glancing at Chiara. She nodded. "Hmm. Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano's description didn't do them justice," Thrass commented, looking them up and down. "Particularly the clothing."

"Their regular shipments of style-design from Csilla must have been delayed," Thrawn said drily. "Car'das and Ferasi: this is Syndic Mitth'ras'safis of the Eighth Ruling Family. My brother."

"Your brother?" Ferasi repeated in surprise.

"You've taught them to speak Cheunh, as well?" Thrass said, his tone darkening a little.

Thrawn shrugged. "After a fashion. Admiral Ar'alani and I were on our way to visit the captured pirate vessel. Would you care to accompany us?"

"That's the main reason I'm here," Thrass said.

"The main reason?" Thrawn asked.

Thrass's lip twitched. "There are others."

"I see," Thrawn said, studying his brother's face. "But we'll speak of them later. If you'll come this way, Admiral?"

* * *

The trip to where the Vagaari ship had been anchored on the far side of the base was a quiet one. Chiara was too busy flying to try to strike up a conversation with Thrass and Thrawn merely pointed out a few technical details of the captured vessel as they approached. Predictably, neither Thrass nor the Admiral seemed particularly interested in Thrawn's commentary on the vessel. Their answers were mostly monosyllabic, if they said anything at all. Chiara could sense Thrawn's disappointment at the disinterest of their guests and his brother in particular, but he let none of that show. She caught a flicker of something else from him, too, but it wasn't anything she could pinpoint. She suspected that it had to do with whatever was on the datapad that one of the techs had presented him with just before they left. He had nearly passed the datapad over to her, but apparently thought better of it and returned it to the tech instead, leaving her utterly in the dark about the contents of the message. She didn't like being in the dark, but Thrawn always had a reason for everything he did and she had learned long ago that it was best to trust him. She would just have to stay tuned to his emotional state and follow his lead.

Once they reached the ship, Thrawn was able to point out quite a few more details and deductions as he showed the Admiral and Thrass around the ship, with Chiara filling in any bits that he left out. Thrass and the Admiral maintained their stoic silence until they reached the treasure room.

"Ah- there you are," Qennto's deep voice greeted them in Basic from one corner of the room.

"What's this alien doing here?" Ar'alani demanded.

"He's helping catalog the items for me," Thrawn replied evenly. "Some of the systems plundered by the Vagaari are in the outer edges of Republic territory, in areas that Chiara never visited. Captain Qennto has some knowledge of the origin and value of the items from these regions."

"What did he say?" Qennto queried, looking to Ferasi.

"In Sy Bisti, if you please," Thrawn told Ferasi in answer to her questioning look, switching seamlessly to that language. "We don't want to leave the Admiral and Syndic out of the conversation."

"Yes, Commander," Ferasi answered. She turned back to Qennto and translated Thrawn's comment.

"Oh, I'm helping catalog, all right. I'm also picking out the items I'll be taking home with me," Qennto said in a mildly belligerent tone, eyeing the two unfamiliar Chiss suspiciously.

"What items are these?" Ar'alani demanded in Cheunh, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the Captain. "Commander?"

"In Sy Bisti, if you please, Admiral," Thrawn requested.

"This is not an interspecies conversation circle," Ar'alani countered sharply, disregarding the request. "What exactly have you promised these aliens?"

"They're merchants and traders. I've offered them some of the items in compensation for their weeks of service," Thrawn said stiffly. It seemed to Chiara that his sense didn't match his tone or posture, though. She carefully

The sense Chiara was getting from him didn't match his tone or posture, though. He almost seemed pleased with how things were going, but that made little sense.

"What service?" Ar'alani demanded, glaring at the humans. "You've provided them with food and living quarters, taught them Cheunh- and for this they deserve compensation? Do you intend to make a habit out of collecting aliens?"

Chiara felt her cheeks warm. Apparently, even the Admiral still considered her to be an outsider here, however gracefully she typically treated her.

"We're also helping the Commander practice our language," Ferasi offered, blundering naively into the conversation.

"You will not speak to an admiral off the Chiss unless first spoken to," Ar'alani corrected the human brusquely, eyes flashing.

"My apologies," the Corellian woman said, reddening.

Chiara felt an odd mixture of satisfaction and sympathy at seeing Ferasi put in her place. N_ow that's not a very Jedi-like reaction_, she told herself sternly.

"There's plenty here for both our visitors and the Ascendancy. If you'll come with me, there are some details of the engine room I'd like to show you" Thrawn said, stepping smoothly into the gap and redirecting the conversation. He took one step toward the door-

"A moment," Ar'alani said, halting him in his tracks, her glowing eyes on Qennto and the decorative shield he was gripping. "Who will decide what items your humans will be permitted to take?"

"My intent was to leave that decision largely to Captain Qennto," Thrawn answered. His sense in the Force tightened and Chiara could almost feel his concentration as he- did what? She still didn't even know where he was going with this. "He's been working on this inventory for some weeks now and has an extensive knowledge of the contents. I can provide you with a copy of the complete listing before you leave."

"A listing of what's in here now? Or a listing of what was here before he removed his chosen items?" Ar'alani asked.

"Both lists will be available," Thrawn promised, taking another step toward the door. "And my spot checks have shown the lists and descriptions are accurate enough. At any rate, you'll have time on the voyage home to examine both the lists and the treasures themselves."

"Or I could examine them right now," Ar'alani said. She gestured to one of her warriors. "You- get the listing. I think, Commander, that I'd prefer to take my own inventory."

She could feel Thrawn's satisfaction at that; clearly, this was what he had been attempting to maneuver the Admiral into. The why was still a mystery to her, though. "As you wish, Admiral. Unfortunately, I'll be unable to assist you in that task. There are administrative matters that require my attention."

"I can make do without your assistance. Make sure I have a shuttle with which to return to my ship when I'm finished." Her eyes flicked to Thrass. "And I think it would be wise if Syndic Mitth'ras'safis remained with me. With the Syndic's permission, of course."

"I have no objections," Thrass said, looking rather troubled by the whole conversation.

"Then I'll look forward to conversing again with you at your convenience," Thrawn said, catching Chiara's eye. He cocked his head almost imperceptibly and glanced from her to the treasure and back again.

"I'll stay and fly them back to the Admiral's ship when they are finished," Chiara offered, picking up on his cue.

Thrawn hesitated for a moment inside the door, his glowing eyes lingering on her. "Very well," he finally said. Clearly, there was something else he wanted to tell her, but could not risk saying in front of the Admiral. He dropped her gaze though and caught Car'das's attention, nodding toward the door.

Chiara watched his receding back, wondering what he was up to. Much to her annoyance, she noticed that Ferasi had invited herself along as well, following Car'das out of the treasure room. She thought about calling the woman back but thought better of it, not wanting to draw any more attention to Thrawn's departure and spoil the game - whatever game that was.

Chiara waited until the door slid shut behind Thrawn before she joined Thrass beside one of the baskets of multi-colored gems that he was examining.

"Why did you do this?" Thrass murmured, letting a handful of the gems slip through his fingers and fall back into the bin. They made little pinging sounds as they struck the other gemstones, almost like pieces of glass glancing off each other. "You and Thrawn both know this cannot be justified under the rules of engagement."

"Actually, it can," she told him. "Their fighters fired at the clawcraft that spotted them first."

"That clawcraft had no cause to be out there in the first place," Thrass told her pointedly.

Chiara raised one eyebrow at him. "The pilot was running a patrol of the system. Are you really implying that we shouldn't run surveillance to insure the safety of the base and the many who live here? Or the scientists on the planet?"

Thrass sighed. "Chiara, you do not fully understand our politics. The other Families have been clamoring over Thrawn's actions for months, now. The Fourth Family in particular has been pointing their finger at you and pushing to have you banished from Chiss territory. It is only because you have Aristocra Mitth'osks'anik so firmly on your side that you are still here, but even that hangs by a thread."

Her heart sank. "Let me guess, Aristocra Chaf'orm'bintrano is the one leading in that suggestion," she said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"He is not the only one, but he is one of the most vocal," Thrass admitted. "It's not only this, though, Chiara; the Eighth Family has made it clear that they will release Thrawn before they allow his immoral attacks to damage their standing. If this happens, I doubt any of the other Families will be willing to take him, not given-" Thrass paused and glanced at her. "Not given the fact that he has bound himself to an outsider," he said almost apologetically.

"And a warrior cannot serve in either of the Fleets without a Family," Chiara finished for him. "I know, Thrass, and that is the last thing I want."

Thrass gave her an appraising look. "You aren't pushing him to make these strikes of his, are you?"

She sighed and picked up a handful of gems from the basket beside her, watching them slip through her fingers and fall back into the basket when she opened her hand. _Even Thrass suspects me of instigating. _"No, Thrass, I'm not," she assured him. "He is the one decides whether or not we should make an attack, not me, and he knows that I will support him either way. I will help him with planning the assault once he has made up his mind, but I do not try to sway his decision one way or the other before that point."

"I'm not sure if I find that reassuring or even more disturbing," Thrass muttered, moving on to another bin and fingering the coins it contained. Still, he seemed at least somewhat relieved.

"Thrawn and I have been discussing that perhaps I ought to go somewhere else for a time and hopefully let some of the controversy die down a bit. Do you think that would be a good idea?" She asked.

Thrass picked up one of the coins and examined the markings on each side, deliberating over his answer. "It certainly would not be a bad idea. Where would you go?"

"My thought was that I could go visit Anisi. It's a six day trip just to get to her base, so I would easily be gone for three weeks or more," Chiara told him.

"That seems like a good plan," Thrass said. He arched one blue-black eyebrow at her. "As long as she doesn't develop a sudden penchant for unprovoked attacks," he added.

Chiara glanced sharply at him. Was he still trying to imply-? She caught the barest hint of a smile tugging at one corner of his lips and relaxed. No, he was just teasing her. Their relationship had been so rocky in the beginning that she wasn't quite used to him feeling comfortable enough with her to make any jokes. She chuckled. "I'll make sure to restrain her if she shows any such tendencies," she promised drily.

They continued moving around the room in silence for a few moments with Thrass occasionally pausing to examine one of the items. The Chiss paused in front of the sculpt that Thrawn had regretfully brought back from their quarters that morning. "I'm surprised you could pry my brother away from all the art in this room."

Chiara snorted. "Barely. He brought that piece in front of you to the base so he could study it. It has been sitting in our quarters for the last month."

Thrass gave her an amused smile. "That sounds like my brother. Tell me, what sort of wondrous deductions into the artist's psyche and origins did he come up with, this time?"

"You shouldn't doubt his abilities to discern things from art, Thrass," she told him. "Every thing he has ever come up with from studying another species' art has turned out to be true. I have had interactions with several of the species whose art is represented in this room and every last characteristic he inferred from their art fit them completely. The Corellians knew about even more of them than I did, and he was right about those species, too."

"Perhaps," Thrass said, sounding unconvinced.

Chiara decided to let it go. "Thrawn was able to learn quite a bit about some of the species and, by extension, the Vagaari. He was even able to make an educated guess about what sort of tactics the Vagaari might have used against them, based on what he learned of the different species fro their art and what we have already learned of the Vagaari's tactics," she told him.

Thrass opened his mouth to reply, but a chirp from the Admiral's comlink broke into their conversation. They both turned in unison to watch as she pulled the curved device from her belt to answer. Her expression darkened as she listened to the voice on the other end and she shot a piercing glare at Chiara. Chiara didn't even have to try to sense her emotions with the Force as the Admiral jammed the comlink back onto her belt and strode over; she was exuding white-hot fury.

"Where has Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo gone?" the Admiral demanded.

Chiara blinked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"He took the _Springhawk _and six clawcraft. I want to know where he is going," the Admiral snarled.

So that was what he had been up to; he had been trying to get away from the Admiral to go- where? "I have no idea," Chiara told her evenly, meeting her blazing eyes.

"You expect me to believe that you don't know? What attack have you not had knowledge of and been an active part of since you first set foot in Chiss territory?" Ar'alani pointed out icily.

"This would be the first one," Chiara admitted. "I assure you that I know nothing of what is going on. I suggest you check the report that he received just before we boarded the shuttle, if you want to know where he went. He didn't show the datapad to me, but I suspect whatever it contains is the cause of his sudden departure."

"And he said nothing of this to you?" The Admiral pressed, clearly still not believing that Thrawn had left her in the dark.

"You were there the entire time, Admiral," Chiara said coolly. "He didn't say a single word to me from the moment we left the welcoming chamber until he left a few moments ago."

"He didn't communicate with you in some other way?" The Admiral asked suspiciously.

"None at all," Chiara told her. "I will swear it on my honor as a Jedi."

The Admiral eyed her for a moment. "Let us return to the base then and find the contents of this report." Her glowing eyes flashed. "Let us hope that Commander is not about to make another unwise strike."

_I am fairly certain that is _exactly _what he is about to do_, Chiara thought.


End file.
